il  il 


\:m 


!   ll 


!;1 


i 


luitiiltiiiiiliii 


FUNDAMENTALS    IN    METHODS 


JI^><^o 


THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK   •    BOSTON   •    CHICAGO  •    DALLAS 
ATLANTA  •    SAN   FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  Limited 

LONDON  •  BOMBAY  •  CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE  MACMILLAN  CO.  OF  CANADA,  Ltd. 

TORONTO 


FUNDAMENTALS   IN 
METHODS 

IN    ELEMENTARY   SCHOOLS 


BY 


JOSEPH    KENNEDY 

DEAN  OF  THE  SCHOOL  OF  EDUCATION,  THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  NORTH  DAKOTA ;  AUTHOR  OF  " RURAL 

LIFE  AND  THE  RURAL  SCHOOL" 


THE   MACMILLAN   COMPANY 

1916 

Ail  rights  reserved 


V^-,^ 


Copyright,  191 5, 
By  the  MACMILLAN  COMPANY. 


Set  up  and  electrotyped.     Published  July,  1915.       Reprinted 
June,  1916. 


/ : :  •: 

1  •  •»*  • 


«•  •••••    • 

•  •  •  \  « •    • 

*  • ,  •  •  • , ,    • 
«••»*   ••••• 


NoriDooti  ilress 

J.  S.  Cashing  Co.  —  Berwick  «fe  Smith  Co. 

Norwood,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


DeDfcatcD  b^  tbe  Butbor 

TO   THE 

ELEMENTARY  TEACHERS, 

BOTH    RURAL    AND    URBAN,    OF   THE    NATION  —  THAT    VAST    ARMY 

WHO    ARE    OUR    SHIELD    AND    OUR    DEFENSE,    AND    WHOSE 

LIVES   ARE  A    SACRIFICE    UPON   THE   ALTAR   OF   CIVIC 

RIGHTEOUSNESS    AS    THEY    BATTLE    VALIANTLY 

AGAINST   DISEASE,    VICE,   AND    IGNORANCE 

IN    THE   "  SAVAGE    WARS    OF    PEACE " 


415333 


Digitized  by  tine  Internet  Arciiive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/fundamentalsinmeOOkennrich 


PREFACE 

The  author  has  long  been  impressed  with  the  poor 
methods  and  the  lack  of  genuine  efficiency  in  elemen- 
tary schools  everywhere,  both  rural  and  urban.  Having 
been  a  teacher  and  supervisor  of  both  kinds  of  schools, 
he  feels  that  this  observation  and  experience  at  first 
hand  enable  him  to  speak  with  some  knowledge  of  the 
facts ;  and  he  hopes  that  his  message  may  be  of  some 
value  to  the  elementary  teachers  of  the  country.  More- 
over, he  takes  a  deep  and  special  interest  in  the  rural 
and  elementary  schools  generally,  and  any  adverse 
criticisms  of  the  work  done  there  are  given  in  a  friendly 
spirit  and  for  a  constructive  purpose.  The  aim  is  to 
help  and  not  to  find  fault. 

The  elementary  school,  urban  and  rural,  is  the  foun- 
dation, the  full  basement,  on  which  the  superstructure 
of  all  higher  education  must  be  raised.  Whether  pupils 
are  to  live  their  lives  in  this  basement  or  whether  they 
are  to  erect  upon  it  a  one-story  cottage  in  the  form  of 
secondary  education  or  a  two-story  dwelling  of  college 
education,  the  foundation  and  basement  should  be  of  the 
best.  It  is  in  the  interest  of  this  foundation,  "  lest  we 
forget,  lest  we  forget,"  in  its  best  construction,  that  this 
little  volume  is  addressed  to  elementary  teachers. 

In  accordance  with  the  law  of  habit  we  become  enam- 
ored of  our  own  thought  and  action.  They  commend 
themselves  to  us  more  and  more  as  we  proceed.     They 


viii  Preface 

become  a  part  of  us  and  we  fail  to  see  them.  We  fall 
into  ruts  and  remain  unconscious  of  our  condition. 
Rural  buildings  and  premises  and  those  in  small  towns 
and  villages  become  more  and  more  dilapidated  as  time 
goes  on,  and  the  owners,  growing  accustomed,  from  day 
to  day,  to  the  slowly  changing  appearances,  do  not 
realize  the  need  of  a  fresh  coat  of  paint  and  other  im- 
provements, till  the  conditions  are  really  disgraceful. 
The  stranger  is  impressed  at  once  with  the  crying  need 
of  repair,  while  the  owner,  who  has  become  adjusted  to 
things  as  they  are,  is  oblivious  to  real  conditions.  The 
same  may  be  said  of  a  man  or  often  of  his  family,  who 
do  not  notice  that  his  hair  has  grown  so  long  that  it  is  a 
subject  of  gossip  in  the  neighborhood.  So  it  is  fre- 
quently with  the  ways,  manners,  and  methods  of  teach- 
ers. They  do  not  realize  that  their  teaching  and  their 
methods  are  in  need  of  paint  or  that  they  are  so  "  wild 
and  woolly  "  that  they  are  sorely  in  need  of  tonsorial 
treatment. 

It  frequently  happens  that  a  man,  in  planning  a  house 
which  he  contemplates  building,  is  afraid  of  showing  his 
plans  to  others,  and  least  of  all  to  an  architect,  for  fear 
of  hearing  adverse  criticisms  on  them  and  of  having 
what  he  considered  strong  features  pointed  out  to  him 
as  weaknesses.  We  are  all  prone  to  feel  an  evil  security 
in  our  own  thinking  and  modes  of  conduct.  The  man 
who  is  partly  intoxicated  thinks  himself  sober,  and 
imagines  that  no  one  else  knows  that  he  has  been  drink- 
ing at  all.  Similar  tendencies,  conditions,  and  delusions 
are  all  too  prevalent  among  teachers.  They  can  not  see 
themselves  as  others  see  them.  But  in  the  case  of  the 
progressive  owner,  if  perchance  he  should  forget,  the 


Preface  ix 

dilapidated  condition  of  his  house  and  premises  need 
only  be  suggested  to  him  or  presented  to  him  by  a 
striking  contrast,  to  have  it  remedied  at  once ;  and  the 
man  whose  hair  has  grown  long,  unnoticed  by  him,  will 
be  brought  to  a  realizing  sense  of  neglect  when  his  wife 
returns  home  from  an  absence  !  The  man  of  any  appre- 
ciation of  the  fitness  of  things  will  admit  at  once  the 
faults  in  his  house  plan  when  an  architect  shows  him 
its  errors  and  tells  him  why  they  are  such.  There  are 
many  things  which  we  have  all  been  unconsciously  or 
thoughtlessly  neglecting  and  which  need  only  be  pointed 
out  to  us  to  receive  our  hearty  indorsement ;  and  there 
are  other  things  which  we  have  been  practicing,  which 
need  only  be  mentioned  as  errors  in  order  to  be  seen  as 
such.     And  so  it  is  in  the  methods  of  the  teacher. 

The  purpose  of  this  book  is  not  to  serve  as  a  con- 
secutive and  detailed  methodology,  but  as  a  discussion, 
as  concretely  illustrated  as  possible,  which  will,  it  is 
hoped,  awaken  or  arouse  elementary  teachers  to  a  real- 
ization of  many  common-sense  injunctions  or  warnings 
which  need  only  be  mentioned,  to  be  obeyed  or  avoided. 
The  teacher  must,  in  the  last  resort,  be  depended  upon, 
with  the  aid  of  texts  and  courses  of  study,  to  work  out, 
consecutively  and  minutely,  the  subject-matter  and  the 
procedure  from  hour  to  hour  and  from  day  to  day. 
There  are  many  good  books  on  detailed  methodology 
which  would  be  of  such  specific  help  in  the  various  sub- 
jects. This  volume,  however,  is  intended  to  discuss 
many  of  the  chief  points  or  turns  of  procedure  and  of 
methods,  in  the  large  ;  to  point  out  fields  and  directions 
to  be  sought  and  followed  or  to  be  shunned  and  avoided. 
Its  aim  is  to  arouse  and  awaken  teachers  from  a  kind  of 


X  Preface 

habitual  lethargy ;  to  cause  teachers,  whether  in  the 
rural  districts  or  the  schools  of  the  city,  whether  young 
and  inexperienced  or  old  and  full  of  experience,  to  make 
a  professional  self-examination,  to  set  up  for  themselves 
standards  of  teaching  and  a  true  perspective  of  values. 

We  all  need  to  revivify  ourselves  in  regard  to  our 
methods  of  teaching.  The  author  feels  that  he  has 
been  helped  by  his  own  discussion  of  the  subject  in  the 
present  volume  and  he  hopes  that  his  readers  will  be 
benefited,  if  only  to  a  lesser  extent,  by  the  reading  of  it. 
We  all  need  to  consider  and  reconsider  our  habitual 
modes  of  conduct,  especially  in  such  a  complex  art  as 
teaching.  To  re-awaken  ourselves  in  this  way  brings 
upon  us  a  reflex  wave  of  thought  and  feeling  that  can 
not  be  other  than  beneficial.  We  need,  everywhere, 
thoughtful  and  rational  methods  of  adapting  means  to 
ends  in  education  and  in  teaching. 

The  aim  in  the  'writing  of  every  chapter  has  been  to 
give  aid  in  a  concrete  and  definite  way  to  teachers  of 
the  common  school  subjects  and  to  arouse  impulses  and 
resolutions  for  better  things  in  the  minds  of  elementary 
teachers,  supervisors,  and  superintendents  everywhere. 
It  is  hoped  that  every  elementary  teacher  may  find  in 
her  individual  reading  of  it  much  that  will  be  practical 
and  uplifting ;  that  it  may  be  of  service  in  method  courses 
in  normal  schools  and  reading  circles  and  that  super- 
visors and  superintendents  may  find  in  it  the  keynote 
for  more  initiative  on  the  part  of  teachers  and  more 
self-activity  on  the  part  of  pupils. 

Definiteness  of  aim  is  one  of  the  most  desirable  things 
in  the  method  and  life  of  a  teacher.  If  the  aim  is 
always  clearly  in  mind,  a  teacher  will  usually  find  a  way 


Preface  xi 

or  make  one.  The  author  attempts  to  show  that  clear 
definite  pictures  both  in  the  aim  and  in  the  means  are  a 
wonderful  help  and  inducement  to  progress  by  both 
teacher  and  pupils. 

The  author  has  avoided  in  his  discussions,  the  philo- 
sophical and  highly  speculative  on  the  one  hand,  and 
the  details  of  the  hour  and  the  day,  which  must  in  any 
event  be  left  to  the  teacher,  on  the  other.  He  has 
avoided  ultimate  analyses  of  methods  and  of  subjects 
and  has  confined  himself  to  the  elementary  point  of  view. 

Upon  request  of  the  author  that  some  concession  be 
made  to  his  advocacy  (in  Chapter  IX)  of  some  revision 
of  English  spelling,  The  Macmillan  Company  very  kindly 
allowed  a  deviation  from  their  usual  orthography  in 
the  case  of  those  words  whose  revised  spelling  is  well 
established. 

The  author  wishes  to  extend  his  thanks  and  to  ac- 
knowledge his  indebtedness  to  Mr.  Rudyard  Kipling 
and  to  Mr.  Hamlin  Garland  for  their  kindness  and 
courtesy  in  allowing  the  use  of  their  selections  for  illus- 
trative purposes  in  the  text. 

JOSEPH   KENNEDY. 

The  University  of  North  Dakota, 
May,  19 15. 


CONTENTS 


PAGB 

Chapter  I.    The  Teacher  and  Methods        ....  1 

Methods,  our  masters 1 

The  environment 1 

The  workman  or  his  tool 3 

Fundamentals 4 

Personal  moral  attributes 5 

Other  attributes 7 

The  school  atmosphere 9 

Illustrations 10 

Extremes 11 

Friends 12 

The  teacher  after  all 12 

Chapter  II.    Clear  Picturing 13 

What  does  this  mean  ? 13 

Clear  mental  pictures 13 

Idols  of  the  market 14 

Lack  of  true  pictures 15 

Why  some  writers  are  obscure 16 

The  dictionary  habit 16 

Different  fields ,        .  17 

Failure  to  picture  correctly 17 

In  writing 19 

In  spelling 19 

In  arithmetic 20 

In  geography 21 

In  history 22 

"  English  as  she  is  taught " 22 

Chapter  III.    The  Most  Prevalent  Mistake       ...  24 

Telling  vs.  teaching 24 

Activity  vs.  passivity 25 

xiii 


xiv  Contents 

PAGE 

Illustrations c        .        ,         .26 

Freedom  and  self-activity 28 

Quality  us.  quantity 30 

Chapter  IV.    The  Recitation  Period 31 

Minds  meet  and  level  up 31 

A  testing  time  .         .         . 31 

Wrestling  with  the  problem 32 

A  guide  to  the  teacher • .        .34 

The  review — "  Apperception  mass  " 34 

Introduction  to  the  next  lesson 36 

Expression 37 

The  teacher's  part 38 

Necessary  formality .39 

Arousing  interest 39 

Summary 41 

Chapter  V.     Reading:  Fundamental  Principles          .        .  42 

Most  important  subject 42 

As  a  medium •    /    •         •         .42 

As  a  mirror 43 

As  a  master  key 44 

An  easy  but  neglected  art 44 

Silent  and  oral          .........  44 

Falling  down .45 

Clear  understanding 46 

Understanding,  liking,  and  expression 47 

The  reading 48 

Choosing  selections 48 

Pictures  on  memory's  wall 49 

Chapter  VI.     Reading  :  A  Criticism  of  Methods        .        .  51 

A  common  method .         .51 

'*  Read  the  first  paragraph  " 51 

Edwin  Booth 52 

What  repetition  will  do 53 

No  enrichment 54 

Fruitless  criticisms .         .  54 

"Elocution" 55 

Variations 55 

Sources 57 


Contents  xv 

PAGE 

Promotions 58 

Reading  from  a  history 59 

The  notebook 59 

Chapter  VII.     Reading  :  The  Beginnings  .    .        .        .        .61 

At  six  years  of  age .61 

From  the  auditory  to  the  visual 62 

The  word,  the  basis  .         .         .         .         ...         .         .63 

Methods  and  methods 63 

Teaching  foreign  children  to  read  ......       64 

The  alphabet  method       . 65 

The  phonic  key 67 

A  case  in  beginnings 68 

The  first  three  months 68 

First  readers 69 

The  test  of  the  pudding  ........       69 

Expression  in  writing       .         .  70 

The  pupil  dependent  in  reading       .         .         .         .         .         .71 

Form  and  content  in  the  tool  stage  .....       71 

Words  —  total,  known,  and  used     ......       72 

Chapter  VIII.     Reading:  Sample  Lessons     .        .        .        .      74 

Aims  and  methods  similar 74 

The  presentation 74 

Preparatory  information  .         .         .       *.         .         .         .         .76 

Work  for  the  pupils 77 

Preliminary  questions .77 

The  old  way  and  the  poor  way 79 

Proximate  analysis 79 

The  reading 80 

The  return  wave .81 

A  study  of  details 81 

Different  versions    .         .         . 82 

Punctuation  and  pauses 82 

Biography  of  the  author 83 

Avoid  too  much  thoroness 83 

Gems  in  brief 84 

Another  example 85 

The  preparation  and  questions         .         .         .         ."        .         .85 
The  emphasis  of  time       .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .86 


xvi  Contents 


PAGE 

The  reading  period,  a  holy  time       ......  87 

One  selection  may  suggest  another 88 

Freedom  in  details  . 88 

Chapter  IX.     Word  Work:  The  Form 89 

Spelling,  or  orthography 89 

Mere  spelling,  not  sufficient 89 

Syllabication,  important 90 

Methods  of  syllabication 90 

In  oral  spelling .91 

Pronunciation  and  enunciation         ......  92 

Words  often  mispronounced 93 

Difficult  sounds  for  foreigners 94 

Oral  or  written  word  work 95 

Rules  for  spelUng     .         . 96 

Writing  misspelled  words         . 97 

Words  often  misspelled 98 

Diacritical  marks 99 

SpeUing  reform         .         .         .      * 100 

Chapter  X.     Word  Work:  The  Inwardness  of  Words      .  102 

What  is  most  important  ? 102 

Slang  words 103 

Abused  words  . 104 

How  meanings  are  learned       .         .         .         .         .         .         .  105 

Word  revelations      .         . 106 

Words  differ  in  interest 107 

One  sample  of  an  interesting  phase         .....  107 

Meaning  of  proper  names 108 

Word  structure 109 

Some  important  prefixes  and  suffixes 109 

Another  interesting  sample Ill 

Samples  of  interesting  etymology 112 

Technical  terms  in  word  work 113 

Lesson  assignment 114 

Sources 115 

Chapter  XI.     Writing 116 

With  reading  at  first         .         .^ 116 

The  present  status 116 


Contents  xvii 

PAGE 

Copy-book  work 117 

Copy  books  made  to  sell 118 

Careful  beginnings 120 

Motive 120 

An  artistic  writer 121 

The  teacher's  part 122 

Aims 122 

Writing,  a  means,  not  an  end .  124 

Systems  of  writing 125 

Analysis  of  letters 125 

Slants 126 

The  children  suffer 127 

Much  note  taking  and  haste 127 

In  adolescence 128 

Can  a  poor  writer  teach  writing  ? 128 

Chapter  XII.     Language  Work  :  Elementary      .        .        .  130 

The  home 130 

The  school 130 

United  with  other  subjects 131 

No  separate  period 131 

Oral  and  written  speech  . 132 

A  written  recitation  . 133 

Growth  of  compositional  power 134 

The  silent  pupil 135 

Not  too  much  interference 135 

The  best  only,  acceptable         ........  136 

The  inductive  procedure 136 

The  criterion  of  good  language 137 

Capitalization  and  punctuation         ......  137 

Backbone  words       . 138 

The  tabooed  list 138 

Occasions  for  language  teaching     ......  140 

The  recitation,  oral  and  written 140 

Reproduction  of  a  story 141 

The  interpretation  of  a  picture 142 

Letter  writing 142 

Blackboard  work 143 

Compositions 143 

Paragraphing 144 


xvlii  Contents 

PAGE 

Correction  by  marginal  signs 145 

Dictation 146 

The  hearing  needs  training 147 

The  typewriter 148 

Idea  of  quantity,  too  prevalent 148 

A  textbook  in  language    .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .  149 

Chapter  XIII.     Language  Work  :  Advanced        .        ,        .  150 

Language  lessons  and  grammar 150 

Grammar  somewhat  abstract 150 

Grammar,  psychology,  and  logic 151 

Where  to  begin 152 

Why  disliked    . 152 

The  sentence,  a  cosmos 153 

Thought  material .  154 

Ideas,  not  words,  related 155 

Subject  and  predicate .  155 

The  identical  sentence 156 

Grammar,  a  part  of  language  work 157 

Sentence  analysis 157 

How  ideas  work 158 

Parsing 159 

A  too  common  situation 159 

Grammar,  a  science ;  not  an  art       .         .         .         .         .         .  160 

Does  grammar  aid  in  good  language  ? 160 

The  diagram 161 

Grammatical  terminology 162 

Difficult  to  teach ,     .         .164 

Chapter  XIV.     Arithmetic  :  Elementary      ....  165 

In  primary  grades 165 

The  Grube  method .         .         .  166 

Abstract  from  the  concrete 167 

Avoid  slavery  to  the  concrete 167 

Too  much  time  on  arithmetic 169 

A  revival  of  mental  arithmetic 170 

A  tool  to  fight  our  environment 170 

Translation  of  Arabic  signs  into  English         ....  170 

Neat  figures 171 

.  Teaching  the  decimal  conception  .          .         .         .         .         .  172 


Contents 


XIX 


Notation  and  numeration 
Rapidity  .... 
Some  points  in  addition  . 
The  multiplication  table  . 
Imagination  in  arithmetic 
The  sign  of  multiplication 
The  precedence  of  signs 
Basis  of  cancellation 
Figures  should  tell  the  truth 
The  proper  form  in  multiplication 
The  form  of  division 

Chapter  XV.     Arithmetic  :  Advanced 
Acquired  incidentally 
"  Fractions,"  not  new 
Clear  conception  of  fractions  important 
Only  like  units  can  be  united 
Greatest  common  divisor  and  least  common  multiple 
Employed  in  fractions 
Terms  should  be  explained 
Invert  the  divisor     . 
The  unit  of  the  fraction  . 
A  problem  and  its  solution 
The  question,  "  Of  what  ?  " 
Some  algebra,  or  general  arithmetic 
Old  friends  in  new  masks 
The  decimal  plan     . 
The  use  of  the  decimal  point  . 
Origin  of  the  decimal  system   . 
Beware  of  the  "  and  " 
Imagination  in  arithmetic 

(1)  The  area  of  the  circle. 

(2)  The  Pythagorean  theorem 

(3)  A  lumber  problem 

(4)  The  bushel 

(5)  The  gallon  . 

(6)  Ambiguous  terms  in  weights 
The  metric  system  . 
The  commercial  part  of  arithmetic 
Ratio  and  proportion 


XX  Contents 

PAGE 

Square  and  cube  root 206 

Wake  up  mind 207 

Chapter  XVI.    Geography        .        .        .        .        .        .        .209 

Purpose  of  the  study 209 

At  first  correlated  and  incidental 209 

The  systematic  teaching  of  geography    .....  210 

The  prpper  procedure 212 

Clear  picturing 213 

The  idea  of  location 214 

The  idea  of  direction 215 

The  globe  as  a  whole       . 216 

Analysis  as  well  as  synthesis 216 

Topics  and  questions  on  the  globe 217 

Relative  magnitudes  of  facts   .......  219 

Isolated  and  barren  facts 220 

Some  dependence  on  memory 221 

Reason  in  geography 221 

Map  drawing 223 

Relative  sizes  and  distances 225 

Other  helps 226 

An  outline 226 

Practical  applications 227 

Chapter  XVII.     History 228 

At  first  wrapped  up  with  reading 228 

The  beginning  and  sequence 229 

Use  a  good  text 230 

Correlation  by  side  excursions         ......  230 

Geography  the  handmaid  of  history 231 

Kings  and  wars  too  prominent 232 

History  not  a  "  narrative  of  events  " 233 

Should  not  be  too  philosophical 233 

The  golden  mean 234 

Facts  and  principles  of  first  magnitude   .         .        .        .        .  234 

Memorizing  history 235 

History  and  patriotism 236 

Ideals  and  history    .         ,         . 237 

Is  history  "  true  "  .? 238 

Method  and  results 238 

Grasp  of  movements  in  the  large  —  samples  ....  238 


Contents  xxi 

PAGE 

Chapter  XVIII.    Hygiene         .        .        .        .        .        »        .241 

Importance 241 

Hygiene  taught  topically 241 

Not  anatomy 242 

Nor  physiology 242 

Knowing  and  doing .        .  242 

Hygiene 243 

Clear  presentation 243 

The  chief  topics  branch  out :  samples 244 

1.  Respect  for  the  body 244 

(«)  Bathing 245 

{b)  Sex  hygiene 246 

2.  The  germ  theory  of  disease 247 

{a)  Consumption 248 

{b)  Typhoid  fever  (call-back  instruction)      .         .  249 

{c)  Lockjaw 250 

{d)  Trichinosis      .         .         .         .         .         .         .250 

{e)  Flies 251 

3.  Fresh  air 251 

(a)  Unventilated  public  buildings          .         .         .  252 

{b)  An  illustration 252 

(f)  The  Black  Hole  of  Calcutta    .        .        .        .252 

{d)  Breathing  exercises         .....  253 

4.  Care  of  the  eyes  and  ears 253 

(a)  The  lighting 254 

(^)  Restful  colors 254 

(c)  Defects  of  vision  and  hearing          .         .         .  254 

5.  Care  of  the  teeth 255 

6.  Exercise  and  play 256 

(a)  Outside  games         ......  256 

{b)  Indoor  gymnastics 257 

(r)  What  to  emphasize  and  avoid          .         .         .  257 

7.  Alcohol  and  narcotics  .......  258 

8.  Miscellaneous 259 

9.  References 259 

Chapter  XIX.     The  Teaching  of  Morals      ....  261 

Indirect  teaching  best 261 

The  moralizing  power  of  the  teacher       .         .         .         »         .  262 

The  moralizing  power  of  schoolmates      ...  263 


xxii  Contents 

PAGB 

Habits  of  preparation  and  presentation 264 

The  subjects  themselves  moralize   ......  265 

{a)    Arithmetic 265 

{b)    Language 265 

(c)    Geography .  266 

{d)    Science 267 

{e)    History 268 

{/)  Reading 269 

Subject-matters  ethicized 269 

Good  pictures 270 

Influence  of  music 271 

The  school  organization 272 

Watch  for  defacements 273 

By  reading  and  telling  stories  . 274 

A  collection  of  Uterary  gems   .         .     • 275 

First  prepare  the  soil 278 

Favorite  maxims 278 

Short  biographies .         .         .  279 

The  school  spirit 279 

Self-assumed  law 280 

Morals  in  the  public  schools 280 

Chapter  XX.     The  Special  Subjects 282 

The  school  a  sample  of  real  life 282 

The  newer  subjects 282 

I.   Music 283 

Importance       .......  283 

An  advantage  in  school  government        .         .  283 

Not  merely  formal 284 

Not  a  merely  feminine  subject          .         .         .  284 

Should  not  be  discredited         ....  284 

The  proper  procedure      .....  285 

What  to  avoid  and  emphasize  ....  285 

Materials  and  equipment 285 

The  aim 286 

II.   Drawing  and  Art     .         .         .         .         .         .         .  286 

Danger  of  formalism         ......  286 

Content  needed 287 

The  aim .        .        .287 

The  equipment 288 


Contents  xxiii 

PAGE 

Care  of  materials 288 

Topics .  289 

Sources  of  information  and  supplies         .         .  289 

III.  Nature  Study   .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .289 

Importance 289 

Not  microscopic 290 

The  aim 290 

First-hand  knowledge 291 

Some  source  references 291 

IV.  Agriculture 292 

The  nation  awakens  to  its  importance      .         .  292 

Competent  teachers  needed     ....  292 

What  to  avoid 293 

Rural  life  in  proper  light  ....  293 

Some  specific  topics         .....  294 

Farmstead  conveniences 294 

Reference  books 294 

V.    Domestic  Science,  or  Home  Economics        .         .         .  295 

Its  value 295 

The  aim 295 

What  can  be  done 296 

Equipment  and  material  .....  297 

References  and  sources    .....  297 

VI.    Manual  Trainifig 298 

Value  of  expression 298 

Correlates  with  life 298 

Scope 299 

Equipment  and  room 299 

References  and  sources 300 

VII.    "  Wake  up  Mind  " 301 

An  important  period 301 

A  few  sample  topics         .....  301 

Contagious  interest  ......  302 

Chapter  XXI.     Methods  in  School  Management        .        .  304 

Importance       ..........  304 

A  good  letter  of  application 304 

Contract 305 

Go  in  time        . .  305 

"  Get  into  the  game "       ,         ,         ,         ,         ,         ,         .         .  306 


XX  iv  Contents 

PAGE 

The  first  day 306 

Masterfulness .  307 

Proper  seating  of  pupils 308 

Don't  boast  or  "  knock  "          . 308 

Few  rules 308 

A  test  case 309 

Visit  the  homes 310 

Don't  teach  the  home  school 310 

Signals  in  the  schoolroom        .         .         .         .         .         .         .  311 

Keep  the  machinery  in  the  background 312 

The  proper  atmosphere  and  spirit 312 

A  clock  and  program 313 

Regular  and  punctual 314 

Teach  how  to  study 314 

Mental  habits 315 

A  slave  to  text  or  course  of  study 315 

Repeating  answers  .........  317 

Stand  or  sit .? 317 

Reviews   . 318 

Call  back  instruction .  318 

Nagging,  an  abominable  vice 319 

Supervise  the  playground 319 

Cleanliness 319 

School  entertainments 320 

The  teacher  should  grow 320 


FUNDAMENTALS   IN    METHODS 


FUNDAMENTALS  IN  METHODS 

CHAPTER  I 

THE  TEACHER  AND   METHODS 

Methods,  Our  Masters.  —  Talleyrand  said  that 
methods  are  the  masters  of  teachers  — ''  Les  methodes 
sont  maitres  des  maitres."  This  is  probably  true  in  the 
sense  that  a  person  becomes  a  bundle  of  habits.  Habit- 
ual methods  may  be  either  a  servant  or  a  master,  either 
good  or  bad.  If  we  use  them  with  discretion  and  effi- 
ciency they  are  our  servants,  our  means ;  but  if  we  fall  into 
ruts  in  bad  methods,  then  they  become  our  hard  and 
evil  taskmaster.  Many  school  boards,  in  inquiring 
about  applicants  for  vacancies,  lay  much  stress  upon 
mere  experience ;  but  experience  may  be  an  evil  rather 
than  a  good,  if  the  teacher  has  fallen  into  bad  methods 
of  teaching.  One  who  has  had  no  experience  but  who 
has  made  a  study  of  the  problems  of  education  and 
the  schoolroom  and  who  has  an  open  mind  —  always 
growing  and  always  ready  and  willing  to  learn  —  gives 
much  more  promise  of  success  than  one  who  has  had 
long  experience  in  routine  methods  of  questionable  effi- 
ciency. 

The  Environment.  —  As  methods  are  a  large  factor  in 
the  success  or  failure  of  a  teacher,  so  likewise  is   the 

B  I 


^.> :;'.',:      F^ndaln^entals  m  Methods 

general  environment  of  the  school.  Environment  means 
much  in  the  education  of  the  child.  It  means  much, 
too,  for  the  teacher,  for  it  determines  very  largely  her 
methods  and  her  success.  The  school  period,  from  about 
six  years  of  age  up  to  maturity,  is  the  pliable  and  plastic 
stage  of  life.  Impressions  are  rapidly  taken  and  tena- 
ciously held.  The  mind  of  the  child,  while  not,  as  Locke 
says,  like  a  wax  tablet  upon  which  the  environment 
makes  impressions,  is  at  least  a  bundle  of  instincts  and 
activities  which  may  be  fashioned,  developed,  or  in- 
hibited with  great  readiness  under  external  influences. 
''  As  the  twig  is  bent  the  tree  is  inchned,"  and  as  the 
human  twig  is  bent  the  human  tree  will  be  inclined. 
Consequently  there  should  be  thrown  around  children 
in  their  school  home  the  most  educative  and  cultural 
influences  possible.  There  should  be  a  large  and  attrac- 
tive school  ground,  neatly  fenced  and  well  kept  in  all 
respects ;  there  should  be  trees,  shrubbery,  and  flowers. 
The  schoolhouse  should  be  architectural  in  appearance 
and  be  characterized  by  fitness  of  means  to  ends  in  all  its 
appointments.  The  seating  should  be  adapted  to  the 
children  and  hygienically  arranged  with  reference  to  the 
light ;  the  walls  should  be  done  in  colors  both  artistic 
and  restful;  there  should  be  a  few  beautiful  pictures 
which  would  be  a  good  influence  in  the  life  of  the  children 
during  the  days,  months,  and  years  of  their  childhood 
and  youth.  The  word  "  influence  "  means  inflowing; 
and  one  can  not  live  in  the  presence  of  a  great  picture  for 
any  length  of  time,  any  more  than  he  can  live  with  a 
great  person,  without  taking  into  his  own  Hfe  something 
of  the  reality  represented.     This  is  nicely  illustrated  in 


The  Teacher  and  Methods  3 

that  charming  story  by  Nathaniel  Hawthorne,  called 
''  The  Great  Stone  Face." 

There  should  also  be  in  the  schoolroom  all  the  material 
supplies,  in  the  way  of  books,  both  regular  and  supple- 
mentary, dictionaries,  Ubrary,  laboratory,  and  apparatus 
generally  which  are  necessary  to  the  success  of  a  school. 
No  workman  can  do  his  work  well  without  the  tools 
wherewith  to  work.  And  so  the  whole  environment  of 
the  teacher  and  the  pupils,  natural,  esthetic,  and  practical, 
should  be  the  most  uphfting  and  stimulating  possible. 
All  these  things  are  the  means,  the  tool,  in  the  education 
of  the  pupils. 

The  Workman  or  his  Tool.  —  But  the  tool  will  not 
work  alone.  There  must  be  behind  the  tool  an  efficient 
worker.  However  important  the  material  environment, 
in  the  way  of  grounds,  building,  and  apparatus,  may  be, 
the  most  important  factor  in  any  school  is  the  teacher. 
The  teacher  is,  in  a  true  sense,  the  soul  of  the  school. 
As  is  the  teacher,  so  is  the  school:  live  teacher,  live 
school;  dead  teacher,  dead  school.  The  teacher  cor- 
responds to  the  mainspring  of  a  watch.  He  keeps  every- 
thing going.  It  was  James  A.  Garfield  who  said  of  his 
own  teacher,  Mark  Hopkins,  that  he  would  be  a  good 
college,  sitting  on  the  end  of  a  log.  And  certainly,  if 
one  had  to  choose  between  a  great  teacher  with  a  poor 
equipment  on  the  one  hand  and  a  poor  teacher  with  a 
good  equipment  on  the  other,  he  would  not  long  hesitate 
in  his  choice.  The  real  master,  the  expert  mechanic, 
with  the  poorer  tool  may  secure  results  far  in  advance 
of  the  poorer  mechanic  with  a  good  tool.  The  poor 
mechanic,  the  bungler,  is  always  blaming  his  tools. 


4  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

Fundamentals.  —  Since  the  teacher  is  central  in  the 
whole  school  situation,  it  is  pertinent  to  discuss,  in 
short,  some  of  the  characteristics  of  a  good  teacher  and 
some  of  the  factors  which  make  for  his  success : 

(i)  In  the  first  place,  it  goes  without  saying  that  such 
a  teacher  should  be  in  good  physical  health  and  free 
from  physical  deformities  of  a  serious  nature.  The 
physically  well  teacher  is  likely  to  be  more  cheerful  and 
more  just,  and  to  have  a  saner  perspective  of  Hfe  and  of 
education  than  one  who  is  not.  People,  too,  with  pro- 
nounced physical  defects  —  those  with  defective  eyes 
or  ears,  cripples,  and  similarly  deformed  people  —  should 
not  be  allowed  to  teach ;  for  children  are  imitative  and 
impressionable,  and  serious  physical  defects  are  ever- 
present  objects  of  imitation  or  ehcit  an  undesirable 
response  whether  conscious  or  unconscious.  They  must 
have  a  depressing  effect  on  children  thru  the  months 
and  years  of  an  impressionable  age. 

(2)  Then,  secondly,  the  one  who  presumes  to  stand 
before  children  to  teach  them  —  to  act  as  a  guide  for 
them  —  should  have  been  over  the  ground  himself  in 
the  subject-matter  to  be  taught,  and  should  be  clear  in 
regard  to  all  the  highways  and  byways  in  the  subject; 
in  other  words,  he  should  have  a  clear  intellectual 
grasp  of  the  subject  to  be  taught.  He  should  have  what 
might  be  called  an  "  easy  mind  "  in  it ;  that  is,  he  should, 
in  a  way,  be  willing  to  challenge  discussion  on  any  point 
or  phase  of  the  subject  which  he  is  teaching.  He  should 
have  clear  mental  pictures  or  definite  concepts  in  every 
phase  of  the  subject,  whether  it  be  grammar,  arithmetic, 
algebra,   or  what  not.     The  bane  of  teaching  every- 


The   Teacher  and  Methods  5 

where  is  obscurity  of  thought  and  imagination.  Many 
pupils  do  not  understand  a  subject  because  they  do  not 
get,  from  day  to  day,  clear  mental  pictures  of  the  subject- 
matter. 

.(3)  In  the  next  place,  a  teacher  should,  of  course,  be 
of  good  moral  character  in  every  respect.  A  person  can 
teach  only  what  he  is,  in  the  field  of  morals  as  else- 
where. The  Har  can  not  teach  truth,  in  the  long  run ; 
the  dishonest  person  can  not  teach  honesty;  the  im- 
pure person  can  not  teach  purity ;  and  so  it  is  of  every 
virtue.  We  can  give  only  what  we  have,  and  we  tend 
to  eUcit  in  others  a  response  to  our  own  nature  and 
characteristics. 

Personal  Moral  Attributes.  —  It  is  difficult  to  de- 
scribe what  personality  is ;  it  is  so  mysterious  and  intan- 
gible. But  there  are  some  moral  characteristics  which 
may  be  mentioned  as  especially  indicative  of  strength 
in  the  teacher.  We  give  only  a  few,  but  from  these 
we  may  judge  all  —  ah  uno  disce  omnes. 

(i)  One  attribute,  which  deserves  to  be  mentioned 
first  and  which  is  fundamental,  is  justice.  Children 
in  the  schoolroom  will  put  up  with  much  if  they  think 
and  feel  that  the  teacher  is  just;  and  there  is  nothing 
that  so  weakens  the  teacher's  influence  and  aHenates 
his  pupils  from  him  as  the  feehng  on  their  part  that  he  is 
not  just,  that  he  is  partial,  that  he  has  favorites.  He 
may  be  severe  and  even  cruel  at  times,  but  if  they  consider 
his  treatment  just  they  are  ready  to  defend  him. 

(2)  Another  characteristic  is  that  of  truthfulness; 
it  is  at  the  foundation  of  confidence.  If  a  teacher  is 
caught  in  deception,  in  prevarication,  in  deviation  from 


6  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

the  truth,  even  in  small  things,  the  pupils  lose  their 
respect  for  him ;  and  while  it  may  be  that  children  are 
not,  as  is  sometimes  thought,  the  best  judges  of  the  moral 
character  of  a  person,  it  is  nevertheless  true  that  sooner 
or  later  they  will  see  thru  deceit  or  untruthfulness  of 
any  kind. 

(3)  Sincerity  is  another  characteristic  which  a  teacher 
must  possess  in  order  to  be  successful.  This  is  difficult 
to  describe ;  it  is  something  that  is  felt  rather  than  seen. 
It  is  a  kind  of  flavor  of  the  personality  which  is  sensed  by 
a  sort  of  intuition.  It  may  be  tinged  to  advantage,  both 
with  seriousness  and  light-heartedness.  Sincerity  in 
no  way  conflicts  with  a  sunshiny  and  humorous  dis- 
position —  in  fact,  they  go  together. 

(4)  It  is  doubtful  whether  a  person  who  has  no 
humor  should  teach.  A  vein  of  humor  is  a  saving  grace ; 
there  is  no  objection,  whatever,  to  the  teacher's  and 
pupils'  indulging  in  a  good  hearty  laugh  together. 
There  is  always  room  in  every  serious  occupation  for 
a  good  joke ;  it  lets  in  a  ray  of  sunshine,  and  we  are 
bound  more  closely  together  by  means  of  it.  This  does 
not  mean,  of  course,  that  indulgence  to  an  extreme  in 
this  direction  is  a  schoolroom  virtue;  it  might  degen- 
erate into  buffoonery;  but  the  teacher  who  has  this 
virtue  with  the  others,  in  due  proportion,  will  see  to  it 
that  no  such  extreme  occurs.  In  fact,  the  danger  is 
that  schoolrooms  go  to  the  other  extreme  of  over- 
seriousness  and  solemnity,  if  not  sadness. 

(5)  Without  the  further  enumeration  of  the  moral 
characteristics  of  a  personality  that  seem  most  desir- 
able in  a  teacher,  there  is  one  which  should  not  be 


The   Teacher  and  Methods  jt 

omitted.     It  is  brought  out  in  an  artistic  literary  climax 
in  the  following  little  poem  by  John  Boyle  O'Reilly: 

WHAT  IS   THE  REAL  GOOD? 

"What  is  the  real  good?" 
I  asked  in  musing  mood : 
"Order,"  said  the  law  court; 
"Knowledge,"  said  the  school; 
"Truth,"  said  the  wise  man; 
"Pleasure,"  said  the  fool; 
"Love,"  said  the  maiden; 
"Beauty,"  said  the  page; 
"Freedom,"  said  the  dreamer; 
"Home,"  said  the  sage; 
"Fame,"  said  the  soldier; 
"Equity,"  the  seer;  — 
Spake  my  heart  full  sadly : 
"The  answer  is  not  here." 

Then  within  my  bosom 
Softly  this  I  heard : 

"Each  heart  holds  the  secret; 

Kindness  is  the  word." 

Other  Attributes.  —  Having  given  a  few  of  the 
moral  virtues  which  should  be  possessed  by  the  true 
teacher,  it  may  be  well  to  give  a  few  characteristics  of 
the  teacher  from  other  points  of  view. 

(i)  The  real  teacher  is  a  leader;  he  is  a  guide ;  he 
professes  to  have  been  over  the  ground  and  to  know 
the  way.  In  going  over  the  Alps,  for  example,  if  two 
persons  should  offer  themselves  as  guides,  one  saying 
that  he  has  never  been  over  the  road  before  but  that  he 
feels  sure  he  can  take  the  visitor  safely  across,  and  the 


8  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

other  saying  that  he  has  been  over  the  road  many  times 
and  knows  every  byway  and  landmark,  there  would 
be  but  little  doubt  as  to  which  guide  would  be  chosen. 
And  so  the  true  teacher  is  one  who  is  presumed  to  be  a 
professional  guide,  who  knows  all  the  paths,  all  the  cross- 
roads, and  all  the  dangerous  places. 

(2)  The  true  teacher  is  what  might  be  called  a  re- 
vealer,  an  inspirer,  of  truth.  Under  his  inspiration  the 
blind  see,  the  deaf  hear,  the  lame  walk.  He  feeds  the 
mentally  hungry  and  breaks  the  bread  of  life ;  he  gives 
drink  to  the  thirsty  from  the  fountains  of  his  own  mind 
and  life.  He  opens  up  to  the  child  new  fields  of  thought ; 
he  takes  the  pupil  to  different  points  of  view,  and  when 
a  subject  is  completed  the  pupil  has"  seen  it  in  all  its 
relations.  The  pupil  has  made  it  his  own,  for  the  teacher 
has  revealed  to  him  the  thought  system  of  that  subject. 
No  pupil  is  being  much  benefited  unless  he  feels  the  thrill 
of  inspiration  and  revelation  in  the  subject  being  studied. 
To  inspire  means  to  breathe  into,  and  the  true  teacher 
breathes  into  the  pupil  his  own  spirit,  his  own  enthusiasm, 
his  own  mental  hunger  and  thirst. 

(3)  The  teacher  is  also  an  interpreter  of  life,  and  the 
problem  of  the  teacher  is  to  induce  the  pupil  to  think  a 
subject  as  it  is  thought  by  others.  A  mediator  means 
a  go-between;  and  the  problem  of  the  teacher  is  to 
bring  the  pupil  and  the  subject  together  so  that  the 
former  appropriates  the  latter  and  makes  it  his  own  — 
makes  it  his  very  self.  The  school  itself,  like  the  teacher, 
is  a  mediator  between  the  individual  and  society.  Their 
function  and  aim  is  to  raise  the  pupil  from  the  plane  of 
the  individual  to  the  plane  of  the  race.     The  problem 


The   Teacher  and  Methods  9 

of  the  school  is  to  make  this  transfer  in  the  shortest 
possible  time  with  the  aid  and  cooperation  of  the  pupils 
themselves.  It  has  taken  the  human  race  thousands  of 
years  to  work  out  and  formulate  in  a  systematic  way 
the  bundle  of  thought  known  as  ''  algebra  " ;  but  the 
teacher  and  the  school,  with  the  hearty  cooperation  of 
the  pupil,  can  hand  over  to  him  this  bundle  of  thought 
upon  a  silver  platter,  so  to  speak,  in  a  single  year.  Their 
great  function  is  to  short-circuit  the  long  and  laborious 
process  of  the  ages.  When  a  pupil  has  thought  the 
subject  of  algebra  he  has  taken  over  to  himself  and  in 
fact  has  made  a  part  of  himself  that  which  has  taken  the 
human  race  untold  generations  to  achieve;  and  so 
the  teacher  is  an  interpreter  to  the  pupil,  of  the  thought 
and  the  life  of  educated  society  at  its  highest  levels. 
The  School  Atmosphere.  —  In  all  this  leading,  re- 
veaKng,  inspiring,  and  interpreting,  there  should  be  the 
most  cordial  and  sympathetic  cooperation  between 
teacher  and  pupils.  The  mental  and  social  atmosphere 
should  be  right.  The  attitude  of  pupils  and  teacher 
toward  each  other  should  be  one  of  mutual  love  and 
respect.  Where  this  atmosphere  and  this  attitude  do 
not  exist  the  true  educative  process  can  not  obtain. 
Socrates  of  old  said  that  a  pupil  can  not  learn  from  one 
whom  he  does  not  love.  We  see  the  truth  of  this  ex- 
emplified ever3rwhere.  If  the  child  loves  and  respects 
his  teacher  he  believes  everything  she  says  and  defends 
everything  she  does;  but  if  he  has  no  respect  for  the 
teacher  —  if  he  detests  and  hates  her  —  he  neither 
beUeves  nor  defends  her.  In  fact  she  is  a  blight  upon 
his  life  and,  instead  of  being  educated,  he  is,  in  a  true 


lo  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

sense,  being  de-educated.  It  would  be  better  for  such 
a  pupil  to  be  out  of  school,  reveHng  in  his  native  wildness 
and  freedom,  than  to  be  undergoing  a  bUghting,  souring, 
and  shriveHng  mental  process. 

Illustrations.  —  As  children,  we  all,  no  doubt,  have 
put  a  string  thru  the  holes  of  a  button  and  throwing 
it  over  each  thumb  have  twirled  it  and  drawn  it  back 
and  forth  so  as  to  make  it  hum.  This  process  sym- 
boHz^s  a  good  school :  Where  a  teacher  is,  so  to  speak, 
drawing  the  school  rhythmically  and  harmoniously  every- 
thing moves  well  and  there  is  present  the  hum  of  in- 
dustry. But  if  the  button  or  the  school  be  not  drawn 
harmoniously  and  rhythmically  the  whole  thing  becomes 
"  balled  up  "  in  a  snarl  and  all  is  chaos.  This  hum  of 
industry  is  always  preferable  to  the  silence  of  death. 
The  latter  condition  sometimes  prevails  under  the  in- 
fluence of  fear.  There  is  no  objection  to  considerable 
noise  if  it  is  of  the  right  kind. 

The  teacher  is,  in  a  true  sense,  a  hypnotist.  The 
children  under  his  care  are  in  a  suggestive  and  impres- 
sionable condition.  If  the  right  atmosphere  and 
attitude  prevail,  the  children  are  ready  to  receive  sug- 
gestions instantly ;  and  this  is  the  most  favorable  condi- 
tion for  the  process  called  education.  Whenever  the 
school  atmosphere  is  such  that  the  suggestions  of  the 
teacher  are  carried  out  immediately  and  wilHngly  by 
the  pupils  the  best  condition  prevails.  Lew  Wallace, 
in  his  description  of  the  chariot  race,  makes  Ben  Hur  and 
his  rival  come  in  to  the  goal  with  their  horses  neck  and 
neck,  and  he  says  that  Ben  Hur  seemed  to  "  send  his 
will  out  along  the  reins."    A  spirited  horse  likes  to  feel 


The  Teacher  and  Methods  il 

the  thrill  from  his  driver's  hand.  The  driver,  in  a  true 
sense,  sends  his  will  out  along  the  reins.  This  situation 
also  symbolizes  and  illustrates  a  good  school.  If  the 
school  responds  in  a  sympathetic  way,  the  condition  is 
right  for  true  teaching.  There  are  many  schools  where, 
instead  of  the  reins'  being  held  reasonably  tight  and  where 
everything  moves  with  enthusiasm  and  spirit,  they  are 
over  the  dashboard  and  the  school  is  running  away 
pell-mell ! 

Extremes.  —  The  old-type  teacher  of  a  generation  or 
two  ago  was  noted  for  extreme  severity.  Fear  on  the 
part  of  the  pupils  and  cruelty  on  the  part  of  the  master 
prevailed  almost  everywhere.  Punishments,  often  severe 
and  whimsical,  were  inflicted  on  all  occasions  and  for 
minor  and  unintentional  offenses.  This  seems  to  have 
been  a  part  of  the  spirit  of  the  age.  The  old-time 
severity  was  not  conducive  to  true  education :  Fear 
always  paralyzes  rather  than  stimulates.  It  does  not 
elicit  self-control  and  cooperation,  which  are  the  very 
essence  of  the  educative  process.  It  may  be  true  that 
we  have  gone  to  the  other  extreme  in  the  ''  soft  pedagog- 
ics," so  often  met  with  to-day.  It  frequently  happens 
now  that  teachers  wear  their  Hves  away  and  verge  on 
nervous  prostration,  worrying  night  and  day  in  order 
to  induce,  thru  love  and  kindness,  viciously  incHned 
boys  and  girls  to  do  the  right  and  proper  thing  in  school. 
There  is  no  reason  why  corporal  punishment  should 
not  be  used  in  certain  exceptional  cases.  In  fact,  a 
good,  swift  case  of  such  punishment  would  be  more 
wholesome  to  the  pupil  and  to  the  school  than  scolding, 
nagging,  and  worrying  on  the  part  of  the  teacher.     There 


12  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

is  no  reason  why  the  body  should  be  more  respected 
and  protected  than  the  mind ;  soul  stabbing  and  mind 
souring  are  much  worse  for  all  concerned  than  the  excep- 
tional case  of  corporal  pain. 

Friends.  —  All  of  the  foregoing  attributes  and  illus- 
trations imply  that  the  teacher  and  the  pupils  a,Ye  friends. 
This  relation  and  its  recognition  by  the  pupils  are  indis- 
pensable. There  can  be  neither  good  school  government, 
good  methods,  nor  efifective  learning  and  teaching  where 
the  teacher  is  not  recognized  as  a  friend.  A  high  school 
teacher  once  told  the  author  that  it  took  him  three 
weeks  to  convince  a  pupil  that  he  was  his  friend.  One 
Friday  he  asked  the  boy  if  he  ever  went  hunting.  The 
boy's  eyes  began  to  brighten  and  on  the  teacher's 
invitation  the  two  went  hunting  on  Saturday.  After 
that  the  boy  was  convinced.  The  teacher  hit  upon 
Francis  Murphy's  method  of  approaching  the  boy  from 
the  "  south  "  side.  Needless  to  say  that  the  boy  was  a 
good  student  from  that  day  on. 

The  Teacher  after  All.  —  While  methods,  then,  are 
very  important,  as  we  hope  to  show  in  the  following 
chapters,  it  is  the  teacher  behind  the  methods,  the  atti- 
tude of  the  teacher  and  pupils  toward  each  other,  and 
the  general  atmosphere  of  the  school  that  are  funda- 
mental in  school  Hfe  and  education  generally. 


CHAPTER  II 

CLEAR  PICTURING 

What  does  this  Mean  ?  —  Probably  the  best  thing  a 
teacher  can  do  is  to  give  to  her  pupils  clear,  definite 
pictures  corresponding  to  the  words  or  phrases  or  to 
language,  generally.  Vivid  picturing  is  essential  to 
clear  understanding  in  every  field;  without  it  the  con- 
tent of  every  subject  remains  indefinite  and  hazy.  It 
may  truthfully  be  said  that  pupils  do  not  learn  their 
lessons  and  do  not  understand  the  subject-matter  in 
hand  because  they  do  not  get  clear,  definite  pictures 
from  the  words  and  sentences  which  they  are  reading. 
They  do  not  learn  their  lessons  simply  because  they 
can  not  read;  for  reading  is  simply  gleaning,  or  gathering, 
the  thought  from  the  printed  page.  The  language  on 
the  page  is  simply  the  form ;  the  word  is  only  the  shell 
which  contains  the  kernel,  the  husk  covering  the  ear. 
Every  word  and  sentence  has  a  content;  the  language 
is  the  outwardness,  and  the  content  is  the  inwardness 
of  it.  Now,  if  children  have  merely  the  words  without 
their  meaning  they  have  the  shell  without  the  kernel; 
the  husk  without  the  ear.  The  great  question  of  the 
teacher  upon  all  occasions  should  be,  "  What  does  this 
mean  ?  " 

Clear  Mental  Pictures.  —  Children,  and  in  fact  most 
people,  are  usually  satisfied  with   mere   words.     This 

13 


14  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

is  illustrated  in  the  case  of  the  boy  whose  mother  tongue 
was  not  the  English,  who  had  read  thru  the  first 
reader  and  could  read,  apparently,  as  well  as  any  of  the 
others,  but  who  afterwards  testified  that  he  did  not 
understand  a  thing  that  was  said.  It  was  ^'  words, 
words,  words."  This,  of  course,  implied  poor  teaching. 
Most  teachers  would  find,  upon  making  an  investigation, 
that  much  of  the  thought  of  children  is  quite  obscure. 
The  boy  referred  to  above  probably  gathered  or  gleaned 
only  about  five  per  cent  of  the  thought.  The  teacher's 
work  is  to  see  to  it  that  the  children  glean  much  more 
than  this.  It  can  not  be  expected,  of  course,  that  chil- 
dren gather  loo  per  cent  of  the  thought  of  a  writer; 
in  fact,  the  total  thought  can  not  be  transferred  to 
any  one.  But  certainly  sufficient  time,  study,  and 
conference  should  be  devoted  to  a  lesson  to  enable  a 
pupil  to  gather  75  per  cent  or  more  of  the  thought. 
Every  selection,  or  piece  of  writing  of  any  kind,  should 
cause  to  arise  in  the  mind  of  the  reader  a  series  of 
pictures,  a  real  panorama ;  —  and  if  some  of  the  words, 
phrases,  or  sentences  in  that  writing  cause  no  pictures 
to  arise  in  the  mind  of  the  reader  there  are  so  many 
blanks,  blotches,  or  daubs  on  the  panoramic  picture 
as  a  whole. 

Idols  of  the  Market.  —  Language  is  but  a  go-between, 
or  mediator,  between  the  writer  or  speaker  and  the 
reader  or  hearer.  Language  is  the  representative  of  the 
mind  of  the  speaker  or  writer,  and  when  it  does  its 
work  it  produces  a  more  or  less  accurate  replica  in  the 
mind  of  the  reader  or  hearer.  When  this  language  is 
not  understood  no  corresponding  picture  is  awakened 


Clear  Picturing  15 

or  elicited  in  the  other  mind.  When  ambiguous  language 
is  used  a  wrong  picture  is  formed  in  the  other  person's 
mind.  This  is  often  the  case.  Very  many  words  have 
an  ambiguous,  or  double,  meaning  and  when  such  lan- 
guage is  used  the  speaker  and  the  hearer  do  not  under- 
stand each  other;  language  does  not  truly  mediate  or 
function.  This  has  been  the  cause,  and  is  still  the  cause, 
of  most  of  the  misunderstandings,  quarrels,  controver- 
sies, and  even  wars  of  the  world.  Bacon  called  words 
"  idols  of  the  market,"  meaning  by  this  that  words  are 
like  coins  passing  current  from  hand  to  hand  and  having 
different  values  for  different  people.  One  person  thinks 
more  of  a  dollar  than  another  does  of  a  hundred  dollars ; 
and  each  person  is  so  firmly  convinced  that  his  own 
meaning  and  value  of  words  are  true  that  he  is  wilHng 
to  fight  and  even  to  die  for  them ;  he  really  worships  his 
own  meanings  and,  consequently,  words  are,  in  a  true 
sense,  "  idols  of  the  market." 

Lack  of  True  Pictures.  —  The  philosopher,  John 
Locke,  said  that  if  two  persons  who  disagree  radically 
should  lay  aside  all  prejudices,  secure  all  the  facts 
in  the  case,  and  seek  truth,  solely,  they  would  come 
closer  and  closer  together  and  finally  agree.  This  state- 
ment is  no  doubt  true.  It  is  language  that  is  the  dis- 
torting medium  between  human  minds;  but,  since  it 
is  the  only  medium  we  have  for  the  transmission  of 
thought,  we  must  make  the  best  of  it.  But  in  the  school- 
room, as  elsewhere,  the  teacher  should  see  to  it  that 
language  carries  over  truthfully  and  representatively; 
that  pupils  get  the  right  ideas,  the  right  concepts,  the 
true  pictures  which  the  language  is  intended  to  convey. 


1 6  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

Why  Some  Writers  are  Obscure.  —  The  reason  that 
the  writings  of  some  men  are  but  Kttle  read,  even  when 
they  are  meritorious,  as  in  the  case  of  Browning,  is  that 
the  reader  does  not  get  clear,  vivid,  and  mentally  satis- 
fying pictures  from  the  words  and  sentences  used.  For 
the  reader  it  is  words,  words,  words!  The  thought, 
however  beautiful  it  may  be  to  those  who  are  able  to 
realize  it,  is  too  deep,  too  remote  from  the  ordinary 
reader's  experience,  or  too  analogical  to  be  grasped  and 
pictured ;  hence  the  average  reader  gets  only  the  form. 
Browning  has  but  few  readers,  for  people,  generally,  are 
not  able  to  picture  vividly  his  more  or  less  philosophical 
content. 

The  Dictionary  Habit.  —  Consequently,  one  of  the  best 
habits  which  a  teacher  can  inculcate  and  ingrain  in  her 
pupils  is  what  may  be  aptly  termed  the  '*  dictionary 
habit."  This  habit  should  be  formed  as  early  as  possible 
—  probably  in  the  third  or  fourth  grade.  While  every 
school  should  have  what  is  called  an  unabridged  diction- 
ary of  some  kind,  this  should  be  used  merely  as  a  supreme 
court  —  as  a  court  of  last  resort ;  but  every  pupil  should 
have  in  his  own  desk  —  his  school  home  —  a  small  dic- 
tionary of  some  kind.  This  he  should  be  taught  to  avail 
himself  of,  to  resort  to,  upon  every  occasion  when  some 
word  comes  to  his  notice  which  causes  no  picture  to  arise 
in  his  mind.  One  of  the  best  mental  conditions  that 
can  be  induced  in  a  pupil  or  student  is  that  of  feeling 
dissatisfied  with  not  knowing;  and  one  of  the  worst 
mental  states  is  that  of  being  satisfied  with  not  knowing. 
If  a  pupil  can  be  taught  to  turn  to  his  dictionary  every 
time  some  unknown  word  comes  in  his  way  in  his  school 


Clear  Picturing  17 

work,  it  will  be  one  of  the  best  lessons  which  a  teacher 
or  a  school  can  give. 

Different  Fields.  —  There  are  various  kinds  of  pictures 
and  different  fields  of  imagination  corresponding  to  our 
various  senses.  Most  human  beings  are  visual-minded ; 
that  is,  most  of  their  mental  pictures  are  of  the  visual 
kind ;  probably  four  fifths  of  all  our  mental  images  are 
of  this  type.  Some  persons,  especially  those  who  are,  by 
heredity,  of  a  musical  predisposition,  Uve  largely  in  an 
auditory  world,  where  the  pictures  are  largely  of  sounds. 
Some  persons,  like  Helen  Keller,  who  have  no  visual  or  au- 
ditory sense  and  who,  consequently,  live  in  both  a  dark  and 
a  silent  world,  live  in  what  may  be  called  a  tactile  world ; 
that  is,  their  world  of  thought  is  in  terms  of  touch.  The 
pictures  in  Miss  Keller's  mind  are  mostly  of  this  character. 
She  has  built  up  a  world  of  consciousness  whose  elements 
are  of  the  nature  of  touch.  Some  animals,  like  the  dog, 
live  in  what  may  be  termed  an  olfactory  world ;  that  is, 
a  world  of  smells.  In  any  event,  the  raw  materials  of 
our  mind,  or  consciousness,  are  given  us  by  the  senses 
with  which  we  are  endowed.  Consequently,  in  order  to 
give  to  pupils  a  world  rich  in  pictures  the  senses  should 
be  carefully  cultivated.  A  teacher  should  know  her 
pupils  and  appeal  to  them  thru  every  avenue  in  their 
experience  in  order  that  they  may  form,  as  they  proceed 
in  their  studies,  vivid  pictures  in  the  world  of  the  senses, 
corresponding  to  the  language  heard  or  read. 

Failure  to  Picture  Correctly.  —  It  may  be  clearly 
shown  that  progress  and  proficiency  in  every  line  of  work 
in  the  common  schools  depends  upon  true  and  vivid 
picturing.     It  can  also  be  demonstrated  that   failure, 


1 8  Fundamentals  171  Methods 

both  in  teaching  and  in  studying  every  subject,  is  due 
to  a  lack  of  abiHty,  natural  or  acquired,  to  summon  up 
clear  mental  pictures  corresponding  to  the  language 
used.  A  Uttle  girl  had  heard  for  a  long  time  the  old 
hymn,  ''  Going  home  to  die  no  more,"  and  had  always 
thought  that  it  meant  "  Going  home  to  Bina  More,"  — 
an  aunt  of  hers,  who  was  always  good  to  children,  treat- 
ing them  to  cakes  and  other  delicacies.  A  boy  who  had 
often  heard  the  phrase,  "  keeping  books,"  received  the 
impression  of  a  man  with  a  gun  on  his  shoulder  walking 
up  and  down  before  the  books  in  order  to  keep  guard 
over  them.  The  old  folk-song,  "  Comin'  thru  the 
Rye,"  is  often  pictured  as  a  field  of  rye  with  a  young 
couple  walking  along  the  pathway  thru  it;  when,  in 
reality,  the  correct  picture  is  that  of  a  little  stream  in 
Scotland  called  the  Rye  and  a  couple  crossing  it,  stepping 
from  stone  to  stone.  The  first  sentence  in  Warren's 
so-called  address,  "  Stand  !  the  ground's  your  own,  my 
braves !  "  was  understood  by  a  boy  all  thru  his  school 
days  and,  indeed,  until  he  came  to  teach  it  himself,  as 
''  Stand  the  grounds !  your  own,  my  braves !  "  without 
ever  having  examined  it  or  taken  the  trouble  to  find  out 
what  the  picture  was.  He  was  satisfied  with  words,  nor 
did  the  teacher  ever  ask  the  question,  "  What  does  this 
mean ?  "  A  line  in  Scott's  "Lady  of  the  Lake,"  saying  of 
the  stag,  "  With  one  brave  bound,  the  copse  he  cleared," 
meant  to  the  boy  when  questioned,  that  the  stag  had 
jumped  over  a  group  of  poUcemen,  or  "  cops  "  !  A  super- 
intendent, upon  questioning  a  child  who  had  read  with 
great  gusto  the  verses,  "  In  that  mansion  used  to  be  free- 
hearted hospitality,"  found  that  the  child  understood 


Clear  Picturing  19 

"  mansion  "  to  be  "  a  man  who  built  stone  walls/'  and 
that  ''  hospitahty  "  meant  to  him  "  a  place  where  they 
keep  sick  people."  The  superintendent  then,  to  the 
confusion  of  both  the  child  and  his  teacher,  who  stood 
near  by,  said :  ''  That  means,  then,  does  it,  that  in  that 
man  who  builds  stone  walls  used  to  be  a  place  where  they 
kept  sick  people?  "  The  superintendent  said  no  more 
but  left  the  pupil  and  the  teacher  to  work  it  out  into  clear 
pictures  for  themselves. 

In  Writing.  —  Success  in  writing  as  in  every  other 
subject  depends  upon  clear  picturing.  When  the  proper 
movement  and  position  in  writing  are  acquired  in  order 
to  make  continuous  writing  physically  easy,  and  when  the 
proper  degree  of  rapidity  is  attained  by  habit  in  order 
to  secure  quantitative  results,  the  only  thing  left  in  order 
to  secure  good  writing  is  conformity  to  proper  picturing. 
The  slant  in  writing  is  not  very  material.  It  does  not 
make  much  difference  what  the  slant  is  if  the  writing 
be  symmetrical ;  if  the  strokes  in  the  writing  and  the 
Hues  are  uniform  in  direction  and  harmonious  on  the 
page,  the  writing  will  look  good.  Of  course  the  letters 
must  have  their  proper  general  form  or  pictures,  but  it 
is  irregularity  in  the  direction  of  the  strokes  that  is 
largely  responsible  for  making  writing  look  bad.  This 
will  be  illustrated  more  fully  in  the  chapter  on  writing. 

In  Spelling.  —  The  same  may  be  said  of  spelling :  Good 
spelling  consists  in  estabHshing,  by  habit,  in  the  mind  of 
the  pupil,  the  correct  form  or  picture  corresponding  to 
the  idea.  If  the  correct  picture,  and  that  only,  is  defi- 
nitely engraved  upon  the  pupil's  memory  there  will  be 
no  trouble  about  his  spelHng.     The  important  thing  is 


20  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

to  estabKsh  a  vivid  picture  of  the  form  of  the  word  cor- 
responding to  the  sound-word  itself,  which  he  aheady 
knows. 

In  Arithmetic.  —  Clear  picturing  is  all-important  in 
the  field  of  arithmetic,  also.  In  fact,  children  do  not 
work  their  problems  because  they  can  not  read^  which 
means  because  they  can  not  get  a  clear,  definite  picture 
of  the  situation.  When  a  teacher's  institute  was  asked 
how  many  bricks  it  would  take  to  lay  one  course  on  a 
chimney  whose  flue  is  a^'  X  8'',  they  all  sat  bewildered. 
Soon  one  hand  went  up  and  the  person  asked,  "  What 
is  a  flue?  "  Another  hand  rose  and  the  question  came, 
"  What  is  the  size  of  a  brick?  "  Another  person  asked, 
^'  Which  way  do  they  lay  bricks,  flatwise  or  on  edge?  " 
It  was  evident  that  they  could  not  form  a  clear  picture 
of  the  chimney  situation  and,  of  course,  it  was  impossible 
to  work  the  problem.  The  instructor  also  asked  whether 
it  would  be  necessary,  in  laying  such  a  course,  to  break 
or  spKt  a  brick.  The  essential  thing  here  was  the  forma- 
tion of  a  clear  picture  of  the  chimney.  The  instructor, 
on  walking  up  town  immediately  afterwards,  met  a  brick- 
layer whom  he  asked  the  same  question.  The  brick- 
layer answered  correctly  and  immediately.  He  had  the 
practical  experience  which  enabled  him  to  form  the  pic- 
ture instantly. 

A  boy  failed  to  solve  the  following  problem  because 
he  could  not  read :  "An  army  which  had  been  twice 
decimated  in  battle  now  contained  8100  men.  How 
many  men  were  there  before  the  battle?"  The  word 
in  this  problem  which  bothered  him  was  ''  decimated  " ; 
this  was  the  unknown  word ;    this  was  the  blot  or  blotch 


Clear  Picturing  21 

upon  the  picture ;  this,  in  fact,  was  the  central  or  pivotal 
word  in  the  situation,  and  because  he  could  not  form  a 
picture  of  it  he  could  not  work  the  problem ;  it  was  the 
key  to  the  situation.  He  had  not  formed  the  dictionary 
habit  and  somehow  it  did  not  occur  to  him  to  look  up 
the  word.  If  he  had  done  so  the  whole  problem  would 
have  cleared  up  and  he  could  have  solved  it  easily. 

Children  in  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades  are  very 
much  at  sea  in  what  is  called  the  commercial  operations 
in  arithmetic.  This  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  for  they 
can  not  form  clear, definite  pictures  of  commercial  situa- 
tions; they  have  never  given  or  received  a  note;  they 
have  never  bought  nor  sold  stocks  or  bonds ;  they  have 
never  discounted  commercial  paper;  and  so  the  whole 
subject  is  obscure  to  them.  It  is  remote  from  their  ex- 
periences. For  the  banker  or  the  stockbroker  these 
operations  are  as  concrete  as  the  buying  of  groceries  or  of 
clothing.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  children  from 
twelve  to  fourteen  years  of  age  can  not  solve  such  prob- 
lems ;  in  fact,  they  should  not  be  required  to  do  so  unless 
the  situation  is  made  clear  and  concrete  to  them. 

In  Geography.  —  The  same  obscurity  and  lack  of  clear 
thinking  prevails  in  the  field  of  geography.  Children 
memorize  the  names  of  places  outside  of  any  possible 
experiences  of  theirs,  and  they  are  often  led  to  think  that 
one  thing  is  as  important  as  another.  They  get  wrong 
impressions  of  the  earth  situation  and  sometimes  they 
keep  these  distorted  pictures  thru  Hfe.  Most  children 
have  no  idea,  no  clear  picture  of  the  relative  posi- 
tion and  motions  of  the  earth  in  the  solar  system  and  in 
space.    They  do  not  know  just  why  the  days  get  long  and 


22  Fundame^ztals  in  Methods 

short.  In  a  high  school  examination  the  following  ques- 
tion was  almost  universally  missed  because  the  pupils 
could  not  form  a  corresponding  picture.  ^'  Can  the  sun 
ever  shine  at  noon  into  the  north  window  of  a  house  sit- 
uated 20  degrees  north  of  the  equator?''  The  pupils 
could  not  answer  such  a  question  correctly  and  accu- 
rately because  they  had  no  mental  picture  of  the  reality. 
A  boy  said  that  the  Nile  river  rises  in  the  Mediterranean 
sea  and  flows  south,  emptying  into  the  middle  of  Africa ! 
He  had  a  poor  geographical  picture  of  what  was  taking 
place.  Another  boy,  when  asked  to  describe  the  Red 
River  of  the  North,  said  it  flowed  south.  When  asked 
how  he  could  maintain  such  an  answer,  he  pointed  to  a 
map  hanging  on  the  north  wall  and  said  to  the  teacher 
that  toward  the  top  of  the  map  was  north,  and  toward  the 
bottom,  south ;  and  hence  that  it  was  impossible  for  a 
stream  to  flow  up  I  Illustrations  might  be  given  without 
number  of  the  extent  to  which  children  have  distorted 
and  chaotic  pictures  in  every  subject. 

In  History.  —  After  a  class  had  completed  United 
States  history  in  the  eighth  grade  they  were  asked  where 
Gettysburg  is;  and,  altho  this  great  battle  was  the 
turning  point  of  the  war  between  the  North  and  the 
South,  there  were  votes  in  that  class  for  every  state  on 
the  Atlantic  coast  from  Maine  to  North  Carolina.  Here 
was  a  class  who  had  studied  United  States  history  for  two 
years  and  who  had  studied  the  civil  war  in  its  details, 
who  did  not  know,  definitely  where  the  great  battle  of 
Gettsyburg  was  fought. 

"  English  as  She  is  Taught."  —  Without  continuing 
further,  the  lack  of  fruitage  on  account  of  the  want  of 


Clear  Picturing  23 

clear  pictures  might  be  illustrated  in  every  subject  in 
the  curriculum.  Some  years  ago  a  collection  of  answers 
was  made  at  the  suggestion  of  Mark  Twain,  and  embod- 
ied in  a  little  work  entitled, ''  English  as  She  is  Taught." 
If  any  teacher  is  inclined  to  be  lonesome  or  homesick, 
this  little  book,  which  may  be  procured  from  any  book 
dealer,  is  recommended  as  an  antidote  and  panacea. 
The  chaotic  mental  condition  of  pupils  with  distorted 
pictures  in  every  subject,  is  well  illustrated  in  this  Uttle 
book.  We  would  suggest,  however,  that  practically 
every  teacher  could  duplicate  such  results  in  her  own 
observation  and  experience;  and  so  we  would  enjoin 
teachers  to  be  careful  in  all  their  work  to  secure  that  in- 
dispensable result  of  accurate  thinking,  —  clear,  definite 
picturing. 


CHAPTER  m 

THE  MOST  PREVALENT  MISTAKE 

Telling  vs.  Teaching.  —  One  of  the  most  prevalent 
mistakes  which  teachers  make  is  that  of  telling  too 
much.  Most  teachers  fall  into  the  inveterate  habit  of 
handing  information  over  to  a  pupil  upon  the  least  provo- 
cation. They  do  not  give  him  a  chance  to  work  a  sub- 
ject out  for  himself  and  to  express  himself  on  it  in  his 
own  way.  Many  teachers  seem  to  think  that  telling 
is  teaching,  when,  in  fact,  beyond  a  certain  point  there 
is  a  distinct  versus  between  them.  The  habit  of  telling 
is  due  to  the  fact  that  it  is  easier  for  a  teacher  to  recite, 
herself,  than  to  witness  a  pupil  in  the  throes  of  a  recita- 
tion ;  consequently,  the  teacher  comes  to  his  rescue  and 
hands  over  the  information  to  him.  True  teaching 
imphes  active  cooperation  on  the  part  of  the  pupil.  Real 
education  is  from  within,  outward,  rather  than  from  with- 
out, inward.  The  tendency  to  tell  is  due  to  the  sympa- 
thetic nature  of  the  teacher.  This  is  a  good  character- 
istic but,  like  many  other  good  things,  it  becomes  a  fault 
beyond  a  certain  point.  When  a  pupil  is  wrestling  with 
a  subject,  attempting  to  express  himself  in  regard  to  it, 
he  should  be  allowed  a  free  rein ;  he  should  be  given  free- 
dom to  express  himself  completely  in  regard  to  the 
matter.  While  the  pupil  is  on  his  feet  reciting  as  best 
he  can,  help  or  adverse  criticism  only  spoils  the  recitation, 

24 


The  Most  Prevalent  Mistake  25 

the  free  self-expression  of  the  pupil;  it  also  mars  the 
mutual  attitude  of  the  teacher  and  the  pupil.  Here  is 
a  place  where  the  teacher  should  be  '*  cruel  only  to  be 
kind."  A  pupil  should  be  allowed  to  work  out  his  own 
salvation,  standing  on  his  own  feet,  and  should  be  per- 
mitted to  come  thru  victoriously  or  to  go  down  to  de- 
feat ignominiously ;  in  the  latter  situation  he  should 
be  allowed  to  retrieve  his  fortunes  by  his  own  efforts  or 
at  least  by  his  active  cooperation.  The  teacher  too 
should  remain  expressionless  so  as  not  to  give  indications 
to  the  pupils  as  to  whether  they  are  going  in  the  right  or 
wrong  direction.  Children  are  good  mind  readers,  from 
the  cues  and  clues  given  by  the  facial  expression  of  the 
teacher.  A  brightening  of  the  face  and  a  smile  or  an 
unconscious  nod  indicates  to  the  pupil  that  he  is  on  the 
right  road ;  while  a  frown  or  a  shadow  on  the  teacher's 
countenance  warns  the  pupil  that  he  is  going  in  the 
wrong  direction. 

Activity  vs.  Passivity.  —  In  this  relation  between 
teacher  and  pupil  there  will  spring  up  and  develop  on 
the  part  of  the  latter  either  the  habit  of  self-activity  and 
self-reliance  or  the  habit  of  passivity  and  of  relying  upon 
the  teacher.  Self-activity  on  the  part  of  the  pupil  is 
absolutely  necessary  to  his  education  in  any  true  sense. 
All  persons  grow  in  strength  by  overcoming  obstacles, 
and  this  growth  in  the  schoolroom  comes  only  by  activity 
and  cooperation  on  the  part  of  the  pupils.  It  is  not 
information  from  the  point  of  view  of  quantity  that  is 
educative,  but  attitude,  activity  of  all  kinds  and  initia- 
tive. There  is  probably  no  better  educational  habit 
than  that  of  relying  on  one's  own  efforts  and  working 


26  Fundamentals  in  Method 

things  out  for  one's  self.  But  the  habit  on  the  part  of 
the  teacher,  of  furnishing  information  to  the  pupil  upon 
the  shghtest  hesitation  on  his  part  induces  merely  the 
habit  of  passivity,  of  waiting  until  everything  is  done 
for  him  or  until  some  one  comes  to  his  rescue.  When  this 
habit  becomes  established  children  deliberately  start  a 
sentence  and  then  hesitate,  watching  and  waiting  for 
the  teacher  to  come  to  their  aid.  This  kind  of  proce- 
dure is  thoroly  vitiating.  The  product  of  such  a  school 
will  be  weak  —  followers  rather  than  self-reliant  leaders. 
When  a  subject  or  topic  is  given  to  a  pupil  for  recitation 
he  should  rise,  and  be  allowed  to  work  out  the  solution 
or  full  explanation  of  it  in  his  own  way,  even  if  his  for- 
mulation of  it  be  full  of  weaknesses  and  errors.  When 
he  has  completed  his  discussion  and  has  expressed  him- 
self in  full  his  mistakes  may  then  be  made  a  subject  of 
friendly  and  truth-seeking  comment  and  discussion  on 
the  part  of  all.  This  will  conduce  to  mental  activity  and 
alertness;  but  when  the  information  is  supplied  to  the 
pupil  merely  for  the  asking,  he  and  all  his  class  will  fall 
into  the  habit  of  merely  waiting  to  be  told.  All  teachers 
should  be  on  their  guard  against  the  growth  and  spread 
of  this  vicious  habit  of  telling;  they  should  carefully 
ponder  the  question  of  '*  Telling  vs.  Teaching.''  The 
Socratic  method  is  the  proper  mode  of  procedure  in  such 
situations. 

Illustrations.  —  (i)  The  habit  of  thus  continually 
handing  over  the  information  desired  by  the  pupil 
reminds  one  of  the  practice  of  the  mother  bird  in  going 
forth  to  secure  food  for  her  young.  She  hunts  the  worm 
and  when  she  returns  the  young  bird  merely  opens  its 


The  Most  Prevalent  Mistake  27 

mouth  wide  and  the  old  bird  drops  in  the  food.  The 
young  bird  is  passive  and  receives  merely  for  the  asking. 
Very  soon,  however,  the  young  bird  is  compelled  to  hunt 
and  scratch  for  a  living.  When  the  attitude  and  habit  of 
passively  waiting  to  be  helped  is  induced  in  children  they 
become  leaners  rather  than  leaders. 

(2)  Society  at  large  may  be  divided  into  two  classes : 
those  who  lead  and  those  who  follow,  or  lean.  One  of 
the  great  purposes  of  the  school  should  be  to  make  as 
many  leaders  as  possible,  and  in  order  to  do  this  habits 
of  self-activity  and  of  initiative  should  be  inculcated  from 
earliest  childhood.  In  life  outside  the  school,  in  homes 
everywhere,  we  see  these  two  processes  in  contrast. 

(3)  Parents  frequently  do  everything  for  their  chil- 
dren, who  need  only  to  ask  in  order  to  receive.  When 
parents  are  accustomed  to  carry  their  children,  figura- 
tively speaking,  and  this  habit  continues  for  years,  the 
parents  are  likely  to  have  weak  backs  and  the  children, 
weak  legs.  On  the  other  hand,  where  the  children  are 
taught  to  do  things  for  themselves,  they  are  Hkely  to 
come  out  strong,  self-assertive,  and  active ;  and  they  are 
also  likely  to  become  more  altruistic,  for  they  are  forming 
habits  of  doing  for  others ;  while  in  the  other  case  they 
are  likely  to  become  egoistic  and  selfish,  for  they  have 
always  been  accustomed  to  have  things  come  their  way. 
This  is  just  as  true  in  the  schoolroom  as  it  is  in  life. 
Habit  is  habit  everywhere,  and,  as  a  result,  we  fre- 
quently see  children  who  have  been  brought  up  in  the  best 
homes  go  to  wreck  and  ruin  merely  because  they  have 
been  made  passive,  inactive,  receptive,  and  selfish.  In 
the  cities  we  often  see  Httle  newsboys  —  street  Arabs, 


28  Fundamentals  in  Method 

as  we  call  them  —  who  are  exposed  to  every  vice  known 
to  man,  come  out,  in  the  end,  strong,  wholesome  men. 
They  have  grown  strong  by  activity,  by  work ;  stumbling 
blocks  have  become  for  them  stepping  stones.  It  is  true 
that  many  of  them  succumb  and  go  under,  but  it  is  never- 
theless true  that  self-reKance,  self-activity,  initiative, 
and  work  give  them  strength. 

(4)  The  effect  of  too  much  help  is  shown  in  the  instance 
of  the  man  who  had  a  pet  squirrel  and  who,  thinking 
he  was  doing  the  squirrel  a  kindness,  was  accustomed  to 
crack  the  nuts  for  it.  The  consequence  was  that  the 
squirreFs  teeth  —  which  were  made  for  that  work  —  grew 
so  long  that  the  squirrel  could  not  eat  at  all.  So  it  is 
often  with  pupils  and  teachers.  The  teacher  frequently 
cracks  all  the  educational  nuts  for  the  children  and  leaves 
them  unable  to  do  anything  for  themselves. 

(5)  One  of  the  best  lessons  that  can  be  taught  children 
is  what  might  be  called  the  lesson  of  untying  knots. 
To  untie  a  knot  implies  seeing  the  strands  in  all  their 
relations:  looking  into  it  and  thus  understanding  the 
why's  and  wherefore's.  It  is  always  easier  to  cut  a  knot 
than  to  untie  one,  but  to  untie  a  knot  impKes  insight, 
thought,  study,  and  work ;  and  so  teachers  should  allow 
pupils  the  privilege  and  opportunity  of  unt3ang  the 
knots  of  the  schoolroom  after  investigating  them  for 
themselves. 

Freedom  and  Self -activity.  —  Teachers  are  prone  to 
form  the  habit  of  what  might  be  called  garrulousness. 
People,  as  they  grow  old,  are  inclined  to  become  more 
and  more  talkative,  and  teachers,  as  they  continue  in 
their  work,  are  subject  to  the  same  danger.    Eternal 


The  Most  Prevalent  Mistake  29 

vigilance  in  this  respect  is  the  price  of  exemption  from  this 
pedagogical  vice. 

It  is  freedom  and  self-activity  that  underlie  the  Mon- 
tessori  system  of  teaching.  There  is  really  nothing  new. 
in  this  method,  except  that  Madam  Montessori,  who  has 
a  great,  wholesome,  winning  and  magnetic  personality, 
expresses  or  puts  these  ideas  into  practice  in  her  life  and 
in  her  school  to  an  extraordinary  degree,  and  owing  to 
her  success  has  made  them  better  known  thruout  the 
world.  In  her  method  and  system  the  child  is  left  free 
and  is  induced  to  be  self-active  both  in  mind  and  body. 

These  same  ideas  of  freedom,  self-activity,  and  initia- 
tive are  the  foundation,  also,  of  government  and  educa- 
tion as  found  in  the  George  Junior  Republic,  at  Freeville, 
New  York.  Here  the  boys  and  girls,  some  of  them  some- 
what refractory  in  their  old  surroundings,  become  equal 
citizens  and  share  comparatively  equal  privileges  and  re- 
sponsibiHties  in  the  Republic.  The  consequence  is  that 
their  freedom  is  largely  of  their  own  making.  Self- 
activity  is  recognized  as  the  central  educational  idea,  and 
inducements  are  held  out  ever3rwhere  for  initiative.  The 
best  results  are  obtained.  Boys  and  girls  who  grew  mis- 
chievous and  wayward  under  the  system  of  prohibitions 
and  inhibitions  practiced  upon  them  prior  to  their  admis- 
sion, here  step  forth  and  participate  in  an  active  and 
law-abiding  manner  in  all  the  activities  of  the  community, 
educational,  social,  religious,  governmental,  and  so  on. 
In  the  Republic,  boys  who  had  to  be  watched  at  home  for 
wrong-doing,  here  become  judges  and  officers  of  the*  law, 
dispensing  justice  without  fear  or  favor,  when  they  have 
the  doing  of  it  themselves. 


30  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

Quality  vs.  Quantity.  —  The  atmosphere  of  every 
schoohoom  should  be  one  where  there  prevails  between 
the  teacher  and  the  pupils  mutual  respect  and  admiration. 
It  should  be  one  in  which  the  children  become  suggestible 
and  receptive,  and  where  the  teacher  needs  only  plant  a 
suggestion  to  have  it  work  itself  out  into  action  among 
the  pupils.  In  an  atmosphere  of  this  kind  interest  is 
awakened  and  developed.  Problems  of  every  kind  are 
thrown  out  at  the  right  time  and  in  the  right  manner 
by  the  teacher,  and  are  then  grappled  by  the  school  and 
solved.  It  would  be  better  for  a  teacher  to  give  one 
problem  in  arithmetic,  which  would  arouse  the  class 
to  discussion  and  enthusiastic  debate,  than  to  give 
twenty-five  problems  that  would  be  solved  merely  for 
the  answer,  when  half  of  the  pupils  would  probably  copy 
from  the  others  for  future  delivery.  A  Httle,  well  and 
enthusiastically  done  by  a  pupil,  is  much  more  educative 
than  any  amount  of  quantitative  work  poorly  done. 
It  is  not  quantity  that  is  valuable,  but  quality,  attitude, 
atmosphere,  spirit,  enthusiasm  —  in  a  word,  a  hunger 
and  thirst  for  genuine  organized  knowledge  and  experience. 
There  is  a  vast  amount  of  mere  material  poured  upon  chil- 
dren, which  goes  in  one  ear  and  out  the  other.  We  have 
such  sublime  faith  in  mere  knowledge  of  subject-matters, 
no  matter  how  secured,  that  children  and  schools  are  del- 
uged with  telhng,  mere  textbook  work,  and  lecturing. 
Much  of  this  material  is  merely  held  in  mind,  thru  mem- 
ory, for  the  occasion  of  an  examination  or  recitation  and  is 
then  unloaded  once  for  all  and  forever.  It  means  nothing 
in  real  education,  for  all  education  must  be  thru  activity. 
Nothing  is  education  that  is  not  our  own  and  our  self. 


CHAPTER  IV 

.     THE  RECITATION  PERIOD 

Minds  Meet  and  Level  Up.  —  In  the  American  school 
system  what  is  known  as  the  "  recitation  period  "  prop- 
erly occupies  an  important  place.  This  period  is  the 
occasion,  par  excellence,  for  the  exercise  of  methods,  and 
hence  a  di'scussion  of  its  aims  and  processes  is  pertinent. 
Upon  its  skillful  use  as  a  means  depends  much  of  the  suc- 
cess of  the  teacher.  The  recitation  period  is  the  great 
opportunity  for  minds  to  meet  —  for  the  teacher  and  her 
pupils  to  come  together  to  compare  notes  and  exchange 
thought.  The  play  of  one  personality  upon  another  is 
probably  the  greatest  factor  in  the  education  of  a  human 
being.  Thought,  feehng,  and  conduct,  Hke  water,  seek 
a  level,  but  in  the  recitation  it  should  be  a  leveling  up 
and  not  down. 

A  Testing  Time.  —  While  the  recitation  period  is  the 
occasion  when  teacher  and  pupils  come  together  for  the 
play  of  mind  upon  mind  and  for  the  exchange  of  thought, 
there  is  a  certain  specific  purpose,  foremost  in  the  minds 
of  all,  to  be  attained :  there  is  a  definite  portion  of  sub- 
ject-matter which  involves  a  problem  or  problems  to 
be  solved.  This  is  properly  the  aim  uppermost  in  mind 
to  be  accomplished  during  this  period.  For  example, 
if  certain  problems  are  assigned  in  arithmetic  it  is  the 
correct  solution  of  these  problems  and  a  clear  expression 

31 


32  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

of  them  which  is  the  central  aim.  If  the  demonstration 
of  a  theorem  or  of  theorems  in  geometry  is  to  be  the 
lesson,  this  aim  of  the  recitation  period  is  to  make  the 
demonstration  and  explanation  clear  in  the  minds  of  the 
pupils.  Consequently,  every  recitation  period  is  a  time 
of  testing:  a  period  in  which  a  kind  of  examination  is 
held.  The  pupil  must  give  an  account  of  himself  and  his 
time.  He  must  show  that  he  has  accomplished  the 
work  designated  at  the  previous  preparation  period. 
The  word  prohlem  comes  from  the  Greek  word,  pro- 
hallein,  which  means  to  cast,  or  throw.  Consequently, 
every  assigned  lesson  has  a  problem  or  problems  in  it : 
something  thrown  at  the  pupil  which  is  either  to  be 
caught  by  him  or  fumbled,,  as  a  baseball  player  might 
catch  or  miss  a  ball.  The  recitation  period  is  the  time  for 
testing  whether  or  not  the  pupil  has  caught  the  problems 
which  have  been  cast  at  him ;  consequently,  this  period, 
which  is  also  a  kind  of  impending  examination,  is  a  power- 
ful motive  to  secure  efficient  study  on  the  part  of  the 
pupil.  He  wishes  to  make  good  in  the  eyes  of  his 
teacher  and  of  his  fellow  pupils. 

Wrestling  with  the  Problem.  —  (i)  Since  every  recita- 
tion period  has  its  aim,  or  object,  to  be  accomplished  — 
its  problem  or  problems  to  be  solved  —  the  first  thing 
to  be  attended  to  is  the  securing  of  the  facts,  facts  directly 
relevant  to  the  problem  and  the  situation.  (2)  Then 
there  should  occur  the  consideration  and  comparison 
of  the  facts.  Many  of  the  facts  brought  up  for  considera- 
tion may  be  challenged.  They  should  also  be  examined 
as  to  their  relative  values.  Some  are  of  the  first  magni- 
tude and  some  are  of  the  tenth.     The  relative  value  of 


The  Recitation  Period  33 

facts  is  all-important  in  coming  to  a  conclusion  of  any- 
kind.  (3)  When  relevant  facts  are  organized  they  then 
become  a  basis  or  ground  for  an  inference,  or  conclusion. 

This  conclusion  vaUdly  drawn  from  facts  properly- 
valued  and  duly  organized  is  the  solution  of  the  problem 
in  hand.  Much  has  been  said  in  recent  years  of  the  vari- 
ous so-called  formal  steps  in  the  recitation;  but  when 
reduced  to  the  simplest  terms,  every  problem  between 
teacher  and  pupil  implies  simply  these  three  factors  or 
elements:  (i)  The  relevant  facts,  (2)  their  relative 
value,  (3)  the  conclusion  validly  drawn  from  them. 

We  are  often  tempted  in  pedagogical  writings  to 
analyze  this  fundamental  problem  of  the  recitation 
period  into  numerous  divisions  and  subdivisions,  when, 
in  reality,  the  process  and  the  method  to  be  employed 
are  quite  simple.  The  method  of  the  recitation  room  is 
similar  to  that  in  every  problem  of  life.  The  solution 
of  every  such  problem  depends  upon  a  proper  in- 
ference from  well-established  and  well-organized  facts 
and  principles.  If  the  situation  is  made  too  consciously 
complex  and  formal,  it  is  likely  to  injure  efficiency  in 
procedure.  Many  things  are  made  difficult  by  being 
made  consciously  complex.  Much  of  the  pedagogical 
literature  of  the  day  errs  in  this  respect.  Simplicity  in 
it  all  is  what  is  needed  most.  Teachers  frequently  think 
that  they  are  not  proceeding  correctly  if  they  have  not 
in  mind  a  complicated  and  formal  scheme,  with  all  its 
logical  subdivisions.  But  the  process  of  teaching  is,  in 
its  essence,  like  every  other  great  work,  simple  and  di- 
rect ;  it  is  not  motived  by  consciously  logical  and  complex 
outlines.     All  complicated  analyses  of  teaching  processes 


34  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

are  mental  constructs  or  psychological  projections  im- 
posed upon  the  situation  by  afterthought  and  reflection. 
They  are  consequent  rather  than  precedent. 

A  Guide  to  the  Teacher.  —  The  recitation  period  is 
also  a  guide  to  the  teacher ;  for  here  she  finds  out  whether 
the  pupils  have  solved  their  problems,  have  accompHshed 
the  aim  or  not.  The  extent  to  which  they  have  done 
this  serves  as  a  guide  to  her,  as  to  the  number  of  problems 
or  the  amount  of  subject-matter  which  she  should  as- 
sign for  the  next  lesson.  By  means  of  the  success  or  fail- 
ure of  the  average  pupil  the  teacher  is  enabled  to  measure 
and  estimate  herself  and  her  assignments.  She  is  thus 
given  standards  for  her  problems  and  her  rate  of  progress. 

The  Review  —  "  Apperception  Mass."  —  But  the  pur- 
pose of  testing  or  examining  the  pupils  on  the  subject-mat- 
ter of  the  recitation  is  not  the  only  aim  of  the  recitation 
period.  Many  teachers,  it  is  true,  regard  this  as  the  sole 
end  and  aim ;  and  hence  the  whole  recitation  period  is 
devoted  to  a  cross  fire  of  questioning  and  answering: 
a  veritable  examination  period.  To  such  an  extent  is 
this  the  practice  that  the  pupils  everywhere,  and  indeed 
teachers  also,  look  upon  the  recitation  period  as  a  mere 
examination  time.  There  are,  however,  other  objects 
to  be  attained  and  other  things  to  be  attended  to  during 
this  period.  One  of  these  is  what  might  be  called  a  re- 
view, or  the  approach  to  the  problems  assigned  for  the 
day.  Every  portion  of  subject-matter  may  be  connected, 
naturally,  with  what  has  gone  before.  And  before  be- 
ginning a  discussion  of  the  problems  of  the  day  the  class 
should  be  made  to  give  the  approach  by  having  recalled 
to  the  minds  of  all  the  important  preceding  discussions 


The  Recitation  Period  "35 

and  conclusions.  It  is  a  good  plan  in  teaching  to  call 
back  instruction  to  see  what  condition  it  may  be  in. 
Previous  knowledge  should  be  revived  and  the  pupils 
refreshed  upon  it,  so  that  present  problems  may  be  at- 
tacked from  the  best  point  of  view.  The  phrase,  "  ap- 
perception mass,"  has  been  worked  hard  in  recent  years 
—  frequently  overworked;  but  it  is  an  excellent  and 
practicable  conception.  It  merely  means  that  there 
should  be  a  bundle  of  relevant  knowledge  by  means  of 
which  present  problems  may  be  best  attacked  and  best 
appropriated  mentally.  If  such  a  bundle  of  knowledge 
does  not  exist,  the  new  subject-matter  can  not  be  knit 
or  interwoven  with  past  experience  as  it  should  be.  If 
such  an  apperception  mass  does  not  exist,  the  new  can  not 
be  attached  permanently  to  the  mind.  It  is  this  which 
makes  the  difference  between  not  being  able  to  forget 
and  not  being  able  to  remember.  There  are  some  things 
which  we  are  utterly  unable  to  forget.  They  have  sent 
their  roots  down  into  our  minds  and  consciousness  to 
such  an  extent  that  they  can  not  be  torn  from  us ;  they 
are  a  part  of  our  very  selves,  ramifying  thru  all  our 
mental  being,  and  it  is  as  impossible  to  tear  them  from 
us  as  k  would  be  to  have  one's  heart  torn  out  and  still 
live. 

There  are,  on  the  other  hand,  pieces  of  knowledge,  so 
called,  so  superficial  that  they  are  merely  "  stuck  on  "  ; 
they  wash  off  or  weather  off  in  the  course  of  a  short  time. 
They  are  Hke  apples  hanging  on  a  Christmas  tree :  the 
sap  and  Hfe  do  not  pass  from  the  tree  to  them;  they 
are  not  vitaHzed ;  they  are  not  growing  or  aHve.  This 
knowledge,  consequently,  is  soon  forgotten ;  its  roots  do 


36  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

not  permeate  our  being.  Real  knowledge,  that  which 
we  have  made  our  own  and  which  has  become  a  part  of 
our  very  selves,  is  like  a  live  apple  growing  on  the  tree : 
the  life  and  sap  pass  to  and  from  it.  Consequently, 
in  order  that  knowledge  or  subject-matter  of  any  kind 
may  accomplish  its  purpose,  it  should  send  its  roots 
into  our  past  experiences ;  it  should,  in  other  words, 
have  an  apperception  mass  to  vivify  it.  In  the  recita- 
tion period  the  review  should  irrigate  and  cultivate  our 
recently  acquired  knowledge  and  experience. 

Introduction  to  the  Next  Lesson.  —  Another  purpose 
of  the  recitation  period  which  should  not  be  forgotten  is 
the  preparation  of  the  pupils'  minds  for  the  lesson  which 
they  are  to  attack  for  the  succeeding  day.  The  teacher 
should,  so  to  speak,  take  the  pupils  by  the  hand  and 
show  them  the  possibilities  in  the  problems  of  the  next 
lesson.  They  should  be  taken  to  a  high  place  and  shown 
not  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth  but  the  promised  land. 
There  need  be  no  fear  that  there  will  not  be  sufficient 
work  for  the  pupils  to  do  if  they  are  given  this  vision. 
They  are  only  shown  which  way  to  go ;  before  the  next 
recitation  period  comes  they  will  have  to  travel  the  road 
themselves.  Such  a  preparation  time  of  only  a  few  min- 
utes is  for  the  purpose  of  showing  the  pitfalls  and  side 
paths  along  the  road  to  be  traveled.  What  is  most 
important  and  what  is  relatively  unimportant  should 
be  pointed  out,  and  the  class  should  be  given  a  clear, 
definite  idea  as  to  what  is  expected  of  them.  It  is  a  great 
blunder  on  the  part  of  the  teacher  to  assign  a  lesson  in 
such  a  manner  that  the  pupils  will  not  know  exactly  the 
specific  problems  of  the  lesson.     They  should  also  be 


The  Recitation  Period  37 

given  some  directions  that  will  be  of  help  to  them  in  the 
solution  of  these  problems.  There  will  still  be  ample 
work  left  for  the  pupils  to  do. 

Expression.  —  Another  very  important  object  in  every 
recitation  period  is  an  unhindered  self-expression  on  the 
part  of  the  pupil ;  the  opportunity  and  the  privilege  of 
expressing  himself  in  full  upon  some  or  all  of  the  prob- 
lems of  the  day  should  be  his.  Self-expression  and  com- 
plete expression  on  the  part  of  the  pupil  are  all-important. 
Too  many  teachers  forget  this ;  they  forget  that  the  gen- 
eral function  of  the  teacher  is  to  act  as  chairman  and  not 
as  chief  speaker  of  the  occasion  in  the  recitation  period. 

The  writer  once  visited  a  recitation  in  United  States 
history  in  which  the  pupils  were  asked  to  recite  upon  an 
assigned  topic.  A  pupil  would  begin  a  sentence  and  be- 
fore he  had  half  finished  it  the  teacher  would  interrupt 
and  either  adversely  criticize  him  or  finish  it  in  her  own 
way.  She  stood  with  a  club  on  the  side  hne,  so  to  speak, 
and  beat  him  back  to  the  straight  and  narrow  path  upon 
the  slightest  deviation  from  her  own  standard  of  accu- 
racy. The  consequence  was  that  the  poor  child  became 
afraid  to  say  anything  and,  of  course,  his  recitation  was  a 
pitiable  exhibition  of  faltering  and  dependence.  Such  a 
recitation  defeats  the  aim  of  self-expression  on  the  part 
of  the  pupil.  It  should  be  the  right  and  privilege  of 
every  pupil  to  express  himself  in  full  and  in  his  own  way 
upon  a  topic  when  it  is  assigned  to  him.  When  he  has 
finished,  some  other  pupil  may  be  asked  to  give  his  ver- 
sion in  like  manner.  If  there  be  a  divergence  of  opinion 
or  of  conclusion,  this  would  then  become  the  proper 
subject  of  discussion. 


38  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

In  another  room  of  the  same  building  the  writer  heard 
another  recitation  —  also  in  history.  Here  the  subject 
was  given  to  the  pupil ;  and,  rising,  he  discussed  it  from 
beginning  to  end  without  interruption  on  the  part  of  the 
teacher  and  made  one  of  the  finest  little  speeches  that 
it  has  ever  been  the  writer's  privilege  to  hear.  He  spoke 
about  seven  minutes  and  marshaled  all  his  facts  and  his 
conclusions  with  wonderful  skill.  He  showed  that  he 
had  gathered  the  facts,  had  valued  and  organized  them, 
and  had  drawn  a  conclusion  which  could  not  be  refuted. 
He  sat  down,  feeling  that  he  had  expressed  himself  in 
full ;  that  he  had  caught  the  problem ;  that  he  had  de- 
livered the  message.  This  was  as  it  should  be.  In  com- 
paring the  two  occasions  one  could  not  help  thinking 
of  Hamlet's  words :  ''  Look  upon  that  picture,  and  then 
upon  this." 

The  Teacher's  Part.  —  There  is,  of  course,  an  oppor- 
tunity in  the  recitation  period  for  the  teacher  to  "  have 
his  say."  One  of  the  purposes  of  this  period  is  instruc- 
tion, corrections,  and  enrichment  by  the  teacher.  If  he 
had  no  such  opportunity,  many  false  impressions  would 
be  left  on  the  minds  of  the  pupils.  Children  often  get 
wrong  mental  pictures,  and  here  is  the  time  and  the 
occasion  for  the  teacher  to  correct  them.  It  is  the  proper 
time  and  place,  also,  for  the  teacher  to  enlarge  upon  the 
thought  and  discussion  of  the  pupils ;  but  not  in  such  a 
way  as  to  rob  the  pupil  of  a  sense  of  achievement  and 
victory.  If  the  teacher  is  competent,  she  can  illus- 
trate by  examples.  To  illustrate  means  to  make  lus- 
trous. She  can  illuminate  the  subject,  which  means  to 
make  it  luminous.    This  period  is  a  time  for  clinching 


The  Recitation  Period  39 

the  nails  which  have  been  driven,  for  if  the  nails  be  driven 
and  not  clinched  they  pull  out  easily ;  and  so,  the  teacher, 
whether  the  nails  be  driven  by  herself  or  by  the  pupils 
in  the  class,  will  see  to  it  that  they  are  all  clinched  before 
the  pupils  are  sent  on  their  way. 

Necessary  Formality.  —  Another  aim  of  the  recita- 
tion period  is  to  give  definiteness  and  formality  to  the 
mental  processes.  Pupils  and  students  have  difficulty 
in  studying  subjects  by  themselves  on  account  of  a  lack 
of  definite  formaHty.  There  are  no  specific  times  and 
places,  where  stakes  are  set  down,  so  to  speak,  to  mark 
the  progress  and  the  distance  traveled.  There  is  no  one 
to  say  whether  or  not  the  subject  is  correctly  understood ; 
and  so  these  pupils  or  students  are  in  the  mental  condition 
of  not  knowing  whether  they  know  or  not.  This  is 
always  somewhat  bewildering.  The  mind  hearkens 
back  to  the  past  and  is  doubtful  of  its  own  accompHsh- 
ments;  a  definite  period  and  formaHty  are  necessary 
to  give  pupils  the  suggestion  and  the  feeling  that 
thus  far  all  is  well.  They  then  turn  their  attention 
whole  and  entire  to  the  new  problems  and  are  thereby 
better  enabled  to  concentrate  upon  them.  Such  a  period, 
in  which  pupils  are  given  to  understand  definitely  and 
formally  whether  or  not  they  have  a  thoro  grasp  of 
the  lesson,  is  necessary  to  a  sense  of  completeness  and  is 
essential  to  mental  eagerness,  determination,  progress, 
and  all  the  steadying,  marching  qualities,  generally. 

Arousing  Interest.  —  Lastly,  the  recitation  period  is 
all  important  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  awakening 
of  interest.  In  every  subject  that  the  child  studies 
there  is  what  may  be  called  the  ''  liking  point."     Until 


40  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

he  has  reached  this  point  he  probably  dislikes  the  subject 
and  finds  it  uphill  work.  It  may  be  that  his  appercep- 
tion mass  has  not  been  psychologically  developed. 
But  as  soon  as  the  Uking  point  is  reached  the  subject  be- 
comes interesting  and  fruitful.  The  great  aim  of  the 
teacher,  and  so  one  of  the  aims  of  the  recitation  period,  is 
to  watch  and  to  see  to  it  that  children  and  their  subjects 
do  not  become  aHenated.  If  the  child  dislikes  his  sub- 
ject, —  that  is,  if  he  has  not  reached  or  if  he  has  fallen 
away  from  the  Hking  point,  —  something  has  gone  wrong 
somewhere.  It  may  be  with  a  former  teacher ;  it  may 
be  due  to  a  lack  of  encouragement  in  the  home ;  it  may 
be  due  to  adverse  suggestions  by  companions ;  it  may  be 
due  to  a  lack  of  effort  on  his  own  part ;  it  may  be  due  to 
attractions  and  distractions  round  about  him  in  society ; 
or  something  may  have  gone  wrong  with  the  present 
teacher.  There  is  no  subject  of  human  thought  and 
study  which  may  not  be  reUshed  keenly  by  every  human 
mind,  if  begun  at  the  right  time,  connected  up  properly 
with  past  experiences,  given  in  proper  quantities  and  in 
the  right  manner.  The  subject  which  is  disliked  and 
which  must  be  taken  as  a  nauseating  medicine  does  little, 
if  any,  good  to  the  pupil ;  in  fact,  it  may  do  much  evil. 
And  hence  the  recitation  period  is  the  time  when  the 
teacher  has  the  opportunity  to  see  to  it  that  the  pupil 
becomes  interested  in  the  subject  which  he  is  studying. 
All  of  these  subjects  are  only  portions  of  human  experi- 
ences, and  the  problem  of  the  school  is  to  hand  over  to  the 
individual  pupil  these  bundles  of  racial  experience,  in  the 
shortest  time  and  in  the  most  interesting  and  most  effi- 
cient manner  possible. 


The  Recitation  Period  41 

Summary.  —  To  summarize :  The  recitation  period  is 
the  time  when  mind  comes  in  contact  with  mind  and  is 
impressed  by  it ;  when  the  pupil  is  tested  on  the  prob- 
lems which  he  has  been  studying;  the  time  when  the 
teacher  is  guided  as  to  the  rate  at  which  she  and  her  class 
should  travel ;  a  time  for  renewing  the  past  so  as  to  make 
the  easiest  and  most  pleasant  approach  to  present  prob- 
lems ;  a  time  when  the  teacher  should  prepare  her  class 
for  the  problems  of  the  succeeding  day;  an  excellent 
opportunity  for  the  pupils  to  express  themselves  in  full  — 
a  privilege  which  should  not  be  denied  to  them ;  a  good 
opportunity  for  the  teacher  to  illustrate,  to  illuminate, 
and  to  clinch;  a  time  when  definiteness  and  formality 
bring  to  the  class,  individually  and  collectively,  the  state 
of  mind  which  gives  peace  and  satisfaction,  and  courage 
to  concentrate  attention  upon  the  future,  rather  than  to 
leave  it  harassed  and  distracted  by  backward  looks 
toward  doubtful  knowledge;  and,  finally,  it  is  a  time 
when  interest  and  enthusiasm  may  be  cultivated ;  when 
all  may  be  brought  to  the  liking  point  of  the  subject  as 
soon  as  possible,  and  when  interest,  which  is  the  edge  of 
mental  appetite,  may  be  kept  continually  whetted  and 
keen. 


CHAPTER  V 

READING:    FUNDAMENTAL  PRINCIPLES 

Most  Important  Subject.  —  Reading  is,  without  doubt, 
the  most  important  subject  in  the  school  curriculum. 
It  is  the  medium  thru  which  every  other  subject  is 
taught  and  studied.  It  is  because  children  can  not 
read  that  they  do  not  get  their  lessons  in  the  various 
other  subjects.  In  fact,  Reading  is  so  important  and 
comprehensive  that  a  person  might  become  educated 
by  this  means,  alone,  for  it  is  the  open  sesame  to  all 
fields  of  thought. 

As  a  Medium.  —  Reading,  as  we  said,  is  the  medium 
thru  which  other  subjects  are  studied.  A  medium^ 
as  the  word  indicates,  is  something  in  the  middle,  or 
between.  The  language  on  the  page  is  the  medium  be- 
tween the  mind  of  the  reader  and  that  of  the  writer. 
The  words,  phrases,  and  sentences  are  go-betweens,  and, 
as  it  were,  transfer  ideas  and  thoughts  from  one  mind 
to  another. 

Now,  the  medium  may  be  in  different  conditions. 
If  a  speaker  should  take  an  object  from  his  pocket  and 
hold  it  behind  a  bo6k  or  slate,  the  audience  could  not 
recognize  the  object,  for  the  medium  is  opaque.  The 
language  of  the  printed  page  frequently  approaches  this 
condition.  To  the  child  who  could  *'  read "  thru 
the  first  reader  as  well  as  any  of  the  other  children  but 

42 


Reading:    Fundamental  Principles         43 

who  did  not  understand  a  thing  that  was  said,  the  medium 
was  opaque. 

If  the  language  remains  opaque,  the  child  does  not  get 
any  of  the  thought.  It  would  be  possible  for  a  person 
who  had  learned  the  pronunciation  of  words,  to  read, 
apparently,  from  a  page  of  Latin,  Greek,  or  other  foreign 
language  without  getting  any  of  the  thought. 

If  a  person  should  take  from  his  pocket  some  object 
and  hold  it  behind  a  piece  of  oiled  paper,  those  in  front 
might  be  able  to  get  a  dim,  hazy  outline  of  it.  In  this 
case  the  medium  would  be  described  as  translucent. 
Frequently  in  the  teaching  of  reading  the  medium  is 
left  translucent  by  the  teacher:  the  children  see  thru 
a  glass  darkly.  If  the  medium  remain  translucent,  the 
child  is  able  to  gather,  or  to  glean,  probably  25  per  cent 
of  the  thought.  But  such  a  condition  in  the  teaching  of 
reading  would  indicate  poor  methods  and  poor  pedagogy 
generally.  The  ideas  and  thoughts  are  indefinite  and 
vague.  The  work  of  the  teacher,  of  course,  is  to  change 
the  medium  from  the  condition  of  being  opaque  or  trans- 
lucent to  that  in  which  the  thought  is  clearly  discerned. 

A  still  better  condition,  and  one  to  be  aimed  at,  is  that 
in  which  the  medium,  like  pure  glass,  is  transparent  — 
where  the  ideas  may  be  clearly  seen  behind  the  words 
and  the  thought  behind  the  language.  In  this  condition 
the  pupil  is  enabled  to  glean  from  75  per  cent  to  100  per 
cent  of  the  meaning.  The  medium  may  be  still  visible, 
for  we  scarcely  ever  reach  the  ideal  of  having  the  medium 
so  transparent  that  it  will  not  be  noticed  at  all. 

As  a  Mirror.  —  To  use  another  figure  of  speech,  lan- 
guage is  a  mirror,  polished  to  a  greater  or  a  less  extent. 


44  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

If  the  mirror  be  such  that  it  will  reflect  the  thought  of 
the  writer  or  speaker  with  definiteness  and  accuracy,  all 
is  well.  But  too  often  the  mirror — that  is,  the  language 
—  does  not  reflect  the  thought  without  great  diffusion 
and  distortion. 

As  a  Master  Key.  —  The  aim  in  all  teaching  is  to  en- 
able the  pupil  to  make  use  of  the  language  as  a  tool  or 
instrument.  Reading  is  the  master  key  by  means  of 
which  the  pupil  is  enabled  to  open  the  doors  into  all 
fields  of  thought.  We  all  pity  those  who  can  not  read. 
They  are  the  ilHterate  and  are  self-excluded  from  the 
society  of  those  who  possess  the  pass  key  of  reading. 

An  Easy  but  Neglected  Art.  —  Oral  reading  has  be- 
come a  somewhat  neglected  art.  There  is  scarcely  any 
accomplishment  that  will  bring  more  happiness  to  one's 
self  and  more  pleasure  to  others  than  the  ability  to  read 
well ;  and  yet,  this  ability  is  very  rare,  indeed.  Parents 
spend  large  sums  of  money  in  educating  their  children  in 
music,  and  yet,  without  disparaging  this  practice,  a  good 
reader  will  have  ten  opportunities  to  entertain  both  him- 
self and  others  by  good  reading,  to  one  opportunity  to 
do  so  in  the  field  of  music,  either  vocal  or  instrumental. 
Reading,  too,  is  a  comparatively  simple  and  easy  art. 
The  best  reading  scarcely  extends  over  a  range  of  three 
or  four  notes,  while  in  music  the  range  extends  over  three 
octaves.  Consequently,  every  person,  whether  he  can 
become  a  good  singer  or  not,  might  become  a  good  oral 
reader. 

Silent  and  Oral.  —  Reading  is  either  silent  or  oral. 
Silent  reading  is  merely  gathering,  or  gleaning,  the 
thought  from  the  printed  or  written  page.     A  good 


Reading:    Fundamental  Principles         45 

reader  is  a  good  gleaner,  one  who  gathers  thought 
accurately  and  fully.  Oral  reading  is  merely  gathering 
the  thought  and  expressing  it  nicely.  Silent  reading  is 
merely  allowing  a  panorama  of  pictures  to  pass  before  the 
mind  as  we  proceed  from  Hne  to  line  upon  the  printed 
page.  If  the  selection  is  a  beautiful  poem  or  gem  of 
literature  of  any  kind,  the  panorama  is  one  of  beautiful 
pictures.  If  the  selection  is  commonplace  or  even  bad, 
it  is  nevertheless  a  panorama  of  pictures.  Oral  reading 
is  causing  such  a  panorama  to  pass  before  the  mind  of 
the  hearer.  If  there  are  words  or  phrases,  or  historic, 
scientific,  or  literary  allusions  in  the  selection  which  the 
reader  or  hearer  does  not  understand,  no  corresponding 
pictures  arise  and  the  total  scene  is,  to  that  extent, 
marred.  There  are  blotches  or  daubs  upon  the  moving 
panorama. 

Falling  Down.  —  It  is  a  very  common  occurrence  in 
school  for  children  to  show  by  their  reading  that  they 
are  not  getting  the  pictures  at  all.  They  stumble,  fall, 
and  flounder  around  to  such  an  extent  that  the  reading 
is  utterly  spoiled,  both  for  themselves  and  for  others. 
The  experience  is  painful  to  readers  and  hearers  alike. 
It  is  a  great  pleasure  to  Hsten  to  a  good  reader,  but  ex- 
tremely uncomfortable  to  Hsten  to  one  who  is  neither 
getting  nor  giving  the  pictures  or  the  thought;  w^hat 
might  be  an  artistic  performance  and  an  artistic  result 
is  utterly  spoiled.  The  writer  had  the  experience  once 
of  visiting  a  school  in  which  a  pupil  had  read  in  a  falter- 
ing, stumbling  manner  thru  two  or  three  paragraphs  of 
a  selection.  He  showed  that  he  was  not  getting  the 
thought  at  all ;  it  was  a  pitiable  performance.     When  he 


46  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

had  finished,  the  teacher  was  on  the  point  of  assigning 
an  advance  lesson  without  making  any  corrections  what- 
ever; without  supplementing  the  child's  knowledge,  or 
burnishing  up  his  pictures.  The  writer  asked  the  boy 
how  he  came  to  school  that  morning ;  he  repHed  that  he 
walked.  The  writer  then  asked  him  how  many  times  he 
fell  down  in  coming  to  school,  whereupon  he  looked  up 
rather  curtly  and  resented  the  question  somewhat, 
replying  that  he  did  not  fall  down  at  all.  The  writer 
then  asked  him  if  he  could  not  read  without  falling  down. 
His  head  dropped  and  both  he  and  his  teacher,  we  think, 
took  the  hint.  Good  reading  should  be  without  any 
hesitation,  stumbling,  or  falHng  down.  Of  course  this 
implies  considerable  previous  study,  investigation,  and 
practice,  but  nothing  less  than  fairly  good  reading  should 
be  accepted  by  the  teacher  as  final.  But  it  will  have  to 
be  induced  and  developed  by  encouragement  and  imita- 
tion rather  than  forced  by  threats  or  fear. 

Clear  Understanding.  —  The  first  thing  necessary 
before  a  pupil  is  asked  to  express  himself  in  reading  is 
that  he  get  a  clear  understanding  of  the  selection.  There 
are  certain  words  in  every  selection  which  are  pivotal 
in  their  nature ;  much  of  the  meaning  of  the  whole  hinges 
upon  them.  These  should  be  carefully  looked  up  by  the 
pupils,  for  if  they  are  not  known,  they  constitute  blotches 
upon  the  picture.  The  teacher  should  inquire  in  regard 
to  the  literary,  scientific,  and  historical  allusions  em- 
bodied in  the  lesson  and  if  necessary  explain  them.  A 
clear  understanding  —  that  is,  the  ability  to  make  defi- 
nite mental  pictures — is  absolutely  necessary.  We  should 
not  advise  a  detailed  analysis  of  any  reading  lesson  from 


Reading:    Fu7tdamental  Principles         47 

a  grammatical  point  of  view.  In  some  of  the  old-time 
teaching,  beautiful  selections  were  frequently  analyzed 
grammatically  and  the  words  parsed  until  the  whole 
became  very  distasteful  to  the  pupils.  This  detailed 
analysis  of  matters  irrelevant  to  the  reading  should  be 
avoided,  but  at  the  same  time  there  should  be  sufficient 
questioning  on  the  part  of  the  teacher  and  sufficient 
study  and  investigation  on  the  part  of  the  pupil  to  bring 
out  the  picture  as  a  whole  and  its  principal  details,  with 
great  clearness. 

Understanding,  Liking,  and  Expression.  —  If  the 
selection  be  a  good  one,  worthy  of  being  introduced  to 
the  class,  the  children  will  all  like  it.  This  is  the  second 
step  —  the  liking  of  the  piece.  The  first  step,  as  we  said, 
was  the  understanding  of  it.  If  the  selection  is  under- 
stood and  is  worthy,  it  will  always  be  Hked.  This  is  es- 
sential to  moral  and  emotional  cultivation  and  is  neces- 
sary to  the  creation  of  a  taste  for  literature.  The  fact 
that  many  children  do  not  like  their  courses  in  English 
and  do  not  become  lovers  and  readers  of  good  literature 
is  due  to  a  lack  of  efficient  and  artistic  teaching  of  read- 
ing. Reading  and  literature  are  administered  to  too 
great  an  extent  all  thru  the  schools  as  a  medicine,  in- 
stead of  being  craved  as  a  dehcious  morsel  by  the  pupils. 
Here  is  a  problem  for  the  teacher. 

The  next  step  is  the  simple  but  artistic  expression  of 
the  thought.  If  the  selection  be  understood  and  liked, 
there  will  be  a  strong  tendency  to  express  it  nicely. 
These,  then,  —  understanding,  liking,  and  expression,  — 
constitute  the  essence  of  reading.  When  and  however 
these  are  secured  there  is  good  teaching  of  reading. 


48  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

The  Reading.  —  As  children  are  great  imitators  and  as 
they  take  on  habits  very  readily,  it  is  always  well  not  to 
have  them  express  a  selection  until  they  first  understand 
it  and  Kke  it.  It  would,  then,  be  well  for  the  teacher  to 
read  the  selection  first ;  then  have  a  pupil  read  it.  This 
could  be  followed  by  some  sympathetic  and  favorable 
comments.  Then  a  second  pupil  should  be  asked  to  read 
it  in  his  way  —  to  give  his  version  of  it.  This,  again, 
might  be  followed  by  some  comparisons  as  to  why  one 
pupil  read  it  one  way  and  another,  another  way.  The 
teacher  would  do  well  then  to  read  it  again.  It  should 
all  be  managed  so  as  to  induce  a  desire  in  the  others  to 
read  it.  In  it  all  aggressive  effort  on  the  part  of  the 
pupils  should  predominate  over  imitation.  And  so  the 
process  might  go  on,  the  teacher  reading  it  occasionally, 
alternating  with  the  pupils.  This  would  allow  for  legiti- 
mate imitation  and  also  for  freedom  of  expression  on  the 
part  of  every  pupil.  It  should  be  the  privilege  of  every 
pupil  in  the  class  to  read  the  whole  selection  from  begin- 
ning to  end ;  and  not  only  that,  but  to  have  an  opportu- 
nity of  reading  the  selection  many  times  as  the  days,  weeks, 
and  months  go  by.  In  the  teaching  of  reading  the  writer 
believes  in  using  comparatively  short  selections :  short 
gems  of  poetry  and  prose,  many  of  which  could  well  be 
memorized  by  the  pupils  and  some  of  which  should  be 
memorized. 

Choosing  Selections.  —  In  teaching  reading  in  the 
upper  grades  it  would  be  well,  instead  of  reading  the 
selections  in  the  reader,  consecutively  from  the  first 
to  the  last,  to  have  the  class  vote  upon  the  selection  to  be 
studied,  discussed,  and  read  at  the  next  time.     This 


Reading:   Fundamental  Principles         49 

makes  the  class  a  party  to  the  choice  and  gives  them  a 
personal  interest  in  their  work.  The  writer  once  taught 
reading  in  an  eighth  grade  in  this  way,  and  during  that 
year  he  and  the  class  made  the  selections  from  any  sources 
available.  Some  of  these  were  taken  from  the  regular 
text  and  others  from  outside  sources.  During  the  whole 
year  thirty-nine  beautiful  gems  of  poetry  and  prose  were 
studied  and  read.  The  plan  was  first  to  understand  them, 
then  to  like  them,  and  then  to  have  them  expressed  or 
read  nicely.  Great  interest  and  enthusiasm  character- 
ized the  choosing  and  the  work  as  it  proceeded.  Many 
selections  were  offered  which  could  not,  of  course,  be 
taken  up  in  class  for  want  of  time.  It  was  noticed  after- 
wards, whenever  the  school  gave  an  entertainment,  and 
any  of  these  pupils  took  part  in  the  program,  that  they 
invariably  chose  one  of  the  selections  studied  and  read 
during  the  year.  This  was  only  natural.  Why  should 
not  one  of  those  beautiful  pieces  be  rendered  again  and 
again,  as  is  the  case  with  many  of  the  old,  famiHar 
songs  ? 

Pictures  on  Memory's  Wall.  —  Many  of  the  selections 
read  in  school  should  be  memorized.  These  literary 
gems  hang  upon  memory's  wall  and  make  a  ^'  house 
beautiful  "  for  us  in  all  our  later  years.  Most  minds  are 
quite  poverty-stricken  in  regard  to  memory  pictures  of 
this  kind ;  some  people  know  scarcely  half  a  dozen  short 
selections.  Others  have  their  memory  walls  decorated 
with  ten,  fifty,  a  hundred  or  more  beautiful  pictures; 
they  live  in  veritable  art  gallery.  In  our  affection  these 
grow  with  our  growth  and  strengthen  with  our  strength ; 
they  become  in  later  years  our  comfort,  support,  and 


50 


Fundamentals  in  Methods 


happiness.  William  T.  Harris,  formerly  U.  S.  Commis- 
sioner of  Education,  once  said  that  he  looked  back  to 
the  memory  gems  which  he  had  learned  in  his  childhood 
and  youth  as  one  of  the  greatest  factors  in  his  education. 
Every  beautiful  poem  or  selection  in  prose  expresses  an 
ideal  toward  which  we  grow ;  and  every  person  grows  like 
unto  his  ideals  —  we  grow  Hke  unto  what  we  love.  And 
so  there  is  no  greater  force  in  the  life  of  a  pupil  than  the 
memory  gems  which  he  has  made  his  own,  his  very  self, 
and  which  he  has  learned  under  the  methods  of  his  good 
teachers  of  reading. 


CHAPTER  VI 

READING:    A   CRITICISM  OF  METHODS 

A  Common  Method.  —  An  old  but  common  method  of 
teaching  reading  and,  in  fact,  the  method  still  in  vogue 
in  many  places,  is  to  call  the  class  up  in  a  martinet 
manner  and  have  them  stand  in  a  line,  facing  the  school 
and  toeing  a  crack  or  a  chalk  mark  on  the  floor.  Posi- 
tions in  the  class  varied  from  what  was  called  the ''  head  " 
to  the  "  foot."  Without  much  or  any  questioning  or 
discussion,  the  pupil  at  the  head  was  asked  to  read  the 
first  paragraph.  He  generally  rendered  it  in  a  con- 
ventional, perfunctory,  monotonous  manner,  showing 
that  he  had  no  clear  intellectual  grasp  of  the  situation. 
Consequently,  his  expression  of  it  was  in  a  kind  of  sing- 
song manner,  suggesting  the  criticism  which  Cicero  is 
reported  to  have  made  upon  a  young  reader :  "If  you 
sing,  you  sing  poorly;  and  if  you  read,  why  do  you 
sing?" 

''  Read  the  First  Paragraph."  —  In  criticism  of  a 
part  of  this  plan  we  should  say  that  a  pupil  should 
never  to  be  told  to  read  simply  one  paragraph.  If  so, 
he  winds  himself  up,  so  to  speak,  and  knows  when  and 
where  he  is  to  stop ;  the  consequence  is  that  he  assumes 
a  monotone,  "  running  down,"  as  it  were,  and  hurrying 
on  to  the  end.  Of  course, he  is  slightly  excited  and  is 
impelled  to  hasten  thru  it  as  rapidly  as  possible,  for  the 

51 


52  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

end  is  dominantly  and  consciously  in  mind.  A  pupil 
should  never  be  told  how  much  he  is  to  read,  so  that 
the  conclusion  may  not  dominate  him  and  his  reading. 
If  the  selection  is  short,  he  should  read  it  all,  and  if  the 
selection  is  of  some  length,  he  should  understand  that 
he  is  to  read  until  he  is  told  to  stop.  If  it  be  the  prac- 
tice to  have  each  pupil  read  one  paragraph,  there  is 
usually  little  attention  paid  by  some  of  the  other 
members  of  the  class,  for  they  are  trying  to  figure  out 
which  paragraph  is  going  to  fall  to  them.  It  should 
be  an  opportunity,  and  the  privilege  of  every  person  in 
the  reading  class,  sometime  and  indeed  frequently,  to 
express  himself  at  length  and  in  full  upon  each  selec- 
tion studied. 

Edwin  Booth.  —  There  is  an  anecdote  told  of  Edwin 
Booth,  the  great  actor,  to  the  effect  that  once  upon  a 
time  he  was  invited  to  be  present  at  the  palatial  residence 
of  an  old  gentleman  in  the  city  of  Baltimore,  who  had 
always  been  opposed  to  the  theater.  This  gentleman, 
however,  had  a  great  curiosity  to  see,  meet,  and  hear 
Mr.  Booth.  The  evening  of  Booth's  entertainment  in 
the  old  gentleman's  home  passed  pleasantly  and  at  the 
opportune  time  some  one  asked  Mr.  Booth  if  he  would 
favor  the  company  with  a  reading.  Mr.  Booth  replied 
that  he  should  be  very  glad  to  do  so.  At  the  proper 
time  it  was  announced  unexpectedly  that  Mr.  Booth  had 
kindly  consented  to  give  a  reading.  All  eyes,  of  course, 
were  upon  him,  and  especially  the  eyes  of  the  old  gentle- 
man who  was  host  on  the  occasion.  When  Mr.  Booth 
was  introduced  he  arose  quietly  and  clasping  his  hands 
and  raising  his  eyes  sHghtly  upward,  began  reciting  the 


Reading:    A   Criticism  of  Methods         53 

Lord's  Prayer.  Before  he  had  finished  it  the  old  gentle- 
man, who  was  intent  upon  the  great  actor,  burst  into 
tears  and  sobbed.  On  regaining  composure  he  said : 
"  I  have  heard  that  all  my  life,  but  I  never  heard  it  that 
way  before."  Mr.  Booth  merely  remarked  :  "  That  is 
nothing;  I  have  been  practicing  that  for  twenty  years 
and  I  haven't  it  perfect  yet." 

Compare  this  with  the  practice  of  having  a  pupil 
read  only  one  paragraph  of  a  selection  and  that  only 
once !  How  is  it  possible  to  take  on  any  enthusiasm  or 
acquire  any  facility  of  expression  by  reading  only  a 
portion  of  a  selection  once?  It  is  contrary  to  all  the 
laws  of  the  mind  and  heart,  and  teachers  should  remem- 
ber the  incident  of  Mr.  Booth  in  their  teaching  of  reading. 

What  Repetition  Will  Do.  —  Repetition  of  a  selection 
of  any  kind  will  lead  to  one  of  two  results :  It  will  either 
cause  degeneration  into  mere  conventional  mummery, 
or  it  will  flower  out  into  the  fullness  of  thought,  feeling, 
and  expression.  If  repetition  of  any  kind  is  not  filled 
full  of  thought  and  feehng,  it  will  merely  degenerate  into 
monotonous  verbiage,  but  if  every  repetition  is  filled 
full  of  thought  and  feeling,  it  will  conduce  to  the  develop- 
ment of  both. 

An  incident  is  told  of  a  great  actor  who  had  always 
been  dissatisfied  with  certain  lines  in  Hamlet.  He  had 
tried  them  over  and  over,  and  indeed  repeated  them 
in  a  thousand  different  ways  but  still  felt  that  there  was 
something  lacking  in  his  expression.  While  crossing 
the  Atlantic  on  one  occasion  he  did  little  else  than  prac- 
tice in  order  to  improve  these  lines.  He  tried  them 
with  every  possible  variation;     and   the  consequence 


54  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

was  that  when  he  appeared  before  the  footlights  in 
New  York  City  and  came  to  these  Hnes  he  sent  a  veri- 
table thrill  thru  that  vast  audience:  he  had  acquired 
power  thru  a  discriminating  repetition  in  his  efforts 
toward  an  ideal. 

No  Enrichment.  —  In  the  old  method  of  conducting 
a  recitation,  after  a  pupil  had  read  one  paragraph  there 
was  Httle  or  no  questioning  on  the  part  of  the  teacher 
in  regard  to  meanings  and  mental  pictures.  References 
and  allusions  were  passed  by  unnoticed;  it  was  mis- 
takenly assumed  that  the  pupils  had  got  them.  The 
pictures  in  the  whole  panorama  were  not  burnished  up 
and  made  clear  and  definite.  The  reading  exercise  was 
a  perfunctory  performance  to  be  got  over  with  as  soon 
as  possible.  It  is  no  wonder  that  a  subject  taught  in 
this  way  was  not  Hked,  and  it  is  still  less  wonder  that 
pupils  did  not  get  their  other  lessons  —  they  simply 
could  not  read,  them. 

Fruitless  Criticisms.  —  (i)  Sometimes  a  few  inane 
criticisms  were  passed  upon  the  reading  of  one  pupil 
by  other  members  of  the  class.  One  would  say,  ''  He 
called  '  the '  '  and ' "  ;  another  would  say,  "  He  called 
*  to  '  ^  ojy^  Such  criticisms,  of  course,  did  no  good. 
If  he  called  ''  the  ''  ''  and;'  or  "  to  "  ''  of;'  it  was  merely 
a  slip  of  the  eye  or  of  the  tongue  or  an  indication  that 
his  mind  was  not  on  the  meaning  or  on  the  picture,  but 
merely  on  the  words.  To  make  such  a  correction  does 
the  person  who  made  the  mistake  no  good,  for  he  would 
be  just  as  likely  to  make  the  same  slip  again.  Of  course, 
if  a  word  were  mispronounced  it  would  be  proper  and 
necessary  to  call  his  attention  to  it. 


Reading:   A   Criticism  of  Methods        55 

(2)  Another  correction  frequently  made  was,  ''  He 
repeated."  It  was  quite  customary,  in  fact,  to  think 
that  corrections  of  some  kind  must  be  made.  There 
was  a  time  set  aside  for  corrections,  and  hence  some 
fault  had  to  be  found  in  order  to  accomplish  the  apparent 
end.  It  is  difficult,  however,  to  see  why  a  person  should 
not  repeat  if  he  realizes  that  he  has  made  a  mistake 
and  has  not  delivered  the  proper  message  or  has  im- 
properly delivered  it.  In  fact,  a  pupil  should  be  allowed, 
as  a  matter  of  right,  to  go  back  to  the  first  and  to  re-read 
in  order  to  do  himself  justice.  If  a  pupil  realizes  at  the 
close  that  he  has  not  acquitted  himself  as  well  as  he  should 
and  could,  he  should  be  allowed  to  express  himself  over 
again.  He  will  then  close  with  a  feeling  of  satisfaction 
instead  of  a  feeling  of  dissatisfaction  and  incomplete- 
ness. Every  pupil  is  under  a  momentary  confusion  for  a 
short  time  and  is,  consequently,  unable  frequently  to  do 
justice  either  to  himself  or  to  the  selection.  If  he  realizes 
this,  a  complete  repetition  is  to  be  commended  rather 
than  criticized. 

(3)  Another  stale  and  usually  meaningless  criticism 
was  (and  often  is)  that  a  pupil  "  read  too  fast."  This, 
of  course,  might  be  valid  in  certain  situations :  Some 
selections,  by  their  very  nature,  require  a  slow  and 
measured  reading ;  other  portions  or  selections  might  be 
expressed  with  considerable  speed.  If  one  were  read- 
ing, for  example,  Byron's  "  Apostrophe  to  the  Ocean," 
where  he  says,  "  Roll  on,  thou  deep  and  dark  blue 
ocean,  roll ! "  and  should  say  the  words  rapidly  and 
flippantly,  it  would  fail  of  the  effect  intended  in  the  whole 
magnificent  passage. 


56  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

(4)  Frequently  pupils  were  hampered  by  criticisms 
and  injunctions  in  regard  to  the  manner  of  standing  and 
of  holding  the  book.  They  were  made  to  feel  awkward 
and  uncomfortable.  It  would  be  well,  of  course,  to 
induce  the  proper  manner  of  holding  the  book  and  a 
dignified  manner  of  standing  while  reading;  but  good 
posture  should  be  secured  by  suggestion  and  example 
and  by  much  tolerance  rather  than  by  severity  and 
criticism.  Too  much  should  not  be  made  of  it;  it  is 
not  a  fact  of  the  first  magnitude,  but  rather  one  of  the 
second  or  lower.  The  teacher  who  is  an  artist  and  who 
understands  the  power  of  suggestion  will  bring  about 
good  results  in  this  respect  in  a  short  time.  The  ideal 
of  art  is  to  conceal  art,  and  the  artist  teacher  will  secure 
results  in  regard  to  position  and  Uke  points  before  the 
pupils  are  aware  of  it. 

(5)  Instead  of  calling  the  whole  class  out  and  having 
them  stand  in  a  row  it  would  be  better  to  have  the  class 
seated  either  where  they  usually  sit  or  toward  the  front 
of  the  room.  When  a  pupil  is  called  upon  to  read  he 
should  then  step  forward  and  face  his  class  and  the  school 
and  read  until  told  to  discontinue  —  reading,  frequently, 
the  whole  piece.  This  is  the  situation  in  actual  life, 
when  a  person  is  reading  before  audiences,  and  should  be 
the  practice  and  the  habit  inculcated  in  school.  The 
pupil  will  then  feel  that  he  is  accomplishing  something, 
that  he  has  delivered  his  message,  that  he  has  expressed 
himself  fully,  and  that  he  has  been  reading  to  an  au- 
dience of  listeners.  When  the  pupil  has  finished  reading 
there  should  be  some  time  for  questions,  for  comparison 
and  discussion,   and  for   the   consideration  of   certain 


Reading:   A   Criticism  of  Methods        57 

pivotal  words,  phrases,  or  allusions.  This  would  be  the 
proper  time  for  a  discussion  of  pronunciation,  emphasis, 
and  elocutionary  expression,  when  such  a  discussion  is 
suggested  by  some  incident  or  thought  opportune  by  the 
teacher. 

Elocution.  —  Real  elocution  should  not  mean  any 
formal,  conventional,  or  "  high-toned  "  mode  of  ren- 
dition. The  best  elocution  consists  of  simple  and  beau- 
tiful expression  accompanied  by  evident  understanding 
and  the  proper  emotional  state.  It  does  not  consist  of 
stage  attitudes,  histrionic  facial  contortions,  or  violent 
gestures.  The  very  best  reading  and  hence  the  best  elo- 
cution is  the  natural  and  accurate  expression,  which  is 
the  result  of  clear  picturing,  accompanied  by  a  realizing 
sense  of  the  sentiment  which  normally  accompanies  it. 

Variations.  —  When  one  pupil  has  given  his  version 
of  the  selection  or  of  a  reasonable  portion  of  it,  and 
when  proper  discussion  has  been  given,  another  pupil 
or  the  teacher  should  give  his  version.  The  whole 
class,  as  we  said,  should  have  this  opportunity  and  this 
privilege.  If  there  is  not  sufficient  time  one  day  for  all 
to  read,  the  opportunity  should  be  afforded  on  succeed- 
ing days.  A  good  selection,  hke  a  good  song,  never 
grows  old  and  should  be  constantly  repeated.  The  class 
should  never  get  the  idea  that  what  is  *'  finished  "  to-day 
is  gone  forever.  On  the  contrary,  they  should  feel  that 
what  has  been  theirs  is  theirs  to  continue. 

Sources.  —  The  class  in  reading,  especially  in  the  upper 
grades,  should  not  be  strictly  confined  to  any  one  book. 
Pupils  should  be  given  the  privilege  of  selecting  pieces 
from  outside  sources  to  be  read  in  class.     There  is  no 


58  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

reason  why  the  selections  included  in  some  one  text  are 
the  best,  or  that  they  are  arranged  in  the  best  order  to  be 
studied  and  read ;  nor  does  it  make  any  particular  dif- 
ference what  is  the  name  of  the  book  from  which  the 
class  is  reading.  There  are  selections  placed  in  some 
third  or  even  second  readers,  found  in  the  fourth  or 
fifth  reader  of  another  series.  The  name  of  the  book 
is  of  little  consequence.  The  reading  book  is  merely  a 
source  book,  a  convenient  place  to  find  beautiful  selec- 
tions of  both  prose  and  poetry.  After  the  class  have 
read  a  selection  or  two  from  each  of  several  authors  they 
may  have  a  wish  or  a  choice  in  regard  to  the  selection 
to  be  studied  and  read  next.  A  class  may  have  taken 
a  special  liking  to  Holmes,  for  example,  and  if  so,  they 
should  be  given  more  of  him  than  the  reader  offers. 
There  should  be  much  freedom  for  the  teacher  and  the 
pupils  in  the  selection  of  reading  material ;  they  should 
feel  their  way  and  be  guided  by  the  taste  and  choice  of 
all  concerned.  The  main  thing  is,  when  a  beautiful 
piece  is  introduced,  to  understand  it,  like  it,  and  express 
it  nicely. 

Promotions.  —  In  rural  schools,  where  supervision 
is  lacking  and  where  teachers  change  with  every  term, 
the  question  of  promotion  is  a  difficult  and  puzzling  one. 
Frequently  pupils  come  to  school  at  the  beginning  of  the 
next  term  either  self-promoted  or  parentally  promoted, 
thinking  that  if  they  only  get  into  a  book  with  a  higher 
name  they  are,  on  this  account,  better  readers.  It 
frequently  happens  that  pupils  in  the  second  reader  or 
even  in  the  first,  read  better  than  other  pupils  in  the 
so-called  fourth  or  fifth  reader.    Teachers  should  dis- 


Reading:   A   Criticism  of  Methods        59 

abuse  the  minds  of  children  and  of  parents  of  this  vicious 
fallacy.  They  should  be  taught  to  see  that  it  makes 
little  difference  what  the  name  of  the  book  is  if  the  pupil 
can  only  read  well.  Many  pupils  who  are  thus  pro- 
moted into  a  book  too  advanced  for  them  make  sorry 
work  of  reading.  It  is  a  pitiable  and  painful  experience 
to  listen  to  the  reading  in  some  schools,  all  because  the 
fundamental  principles  and  aims  of  reading  are  not  kept 
clearly  in  mind. 

Reading  from  a  History.  —  There  used  to  be  an  old 
notion  that  when  children  had  finished  the  fourth 
reader  they  might  be  promoted  into  a  United  States 
history  for  reading  purposes ;  the  United  States  his- 
tory as  a  reader  was  considered  more  advanced  than  the 
so-called  fourth  reader.  This,  of  course,  was  a  silly 
blunder.  A  United  States  history  is  merely  narrative, 
by  the  one  author,  while  the  subject-matter  for  a  reading 
class  should  be  varied,  containing  both  prose  and  poetry 
by  various  authors.  Furthermore,  the  subject-matter 
of  reading  should  be  the  best  of  its  kind;  should  be 
composed  of  real  gems  of  literature,  both  in  poetry  and 
in  prose  :  some  humorous,  some  pathetic ;  some  narra- 
tive, some  descriptive ;   and  so  on. 

The  Notebook.  —  One  way  to  break  up  the  habit  of 
unwarranted  promotion,  and  of  consecutive  reading  in 
one  book,  would  be  for  the  pupils  to  have  notebooks  of 
a  proper  size  into  which  choice  selections  from  any  and 
all  sources  should  be  written  and  preserved.  These 
notebooks  should  be  neat  and  well  bound.  When  a 
gem  of  poetry  or  of  prose  is  found  it  should  be  written 
upon  the  blackboard  with  great  accuracy  and  copied 


6o  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

by  the  pupils.  This  process  will  take  some  time,  but 
it  will  be  an  excellent  lesson  in  language,  in  writing,  and 
in  good  form  generally.  A  little  rivalry  should  be 
created  among  pupils  in  regard  to  correctness  and  neat- 
ness in  copying  these  gems  into  their  notebooks.  When 
called  upon  at  any  time  to  read  one  of  these  selections, 
they  would  either  render  it  from  memory  or  read  it 
from  the  notebook.  These  books  should  be  so  kept 
that  they  will  be  prized  by  the  pupils  in  after  years. 
There  is  much  note  taking  and  much  keeping  of  note- 
books that  degenerate  into  slovenliness  and  bad  habits. 
What  is  worth  doing  is  worth  doing  well,  and  a  little  well 
done  is  worth  any  amount  poorly  done.  A  notebook 
which  is  so  poorly  kept  that  it  repels  even  the  pupil 
himself  in  a  few  months  or  a  year  will  be  thrown  away 
as  useless.  In  reading  work  of  this  kind  a  secondary 
object  should  be  the  building  up  of  a  really  artistic  note- 
book. The  pupil's  writing  should  grow  better  with 
succeeding  pages,  and  the  whole,  when  finished,  should 
be  the  best  work  of  which  the  pupil  is  capable.  This 
notebook  will  then  be  worthy  of  being  kept  by  the  pupil 
as  one  of  the  books  in  his  Hbrary ;  and  in  after  years,  if 
some  of  the  pictures  have  faded  from  memory's  wall, 
he  can  still  revive  them  and  refresh  them  by  turning  to 
his  notebook,  which  will  bring  back  to  his  mind  old 
school  days  and  old  memories. 

This  method  of  preserving  choice  and  favorite  selec- 
tions need  not  displace  entirely  the  regular  reading  book. 
It  is  offered  here  as  a  suggestion  and  as  a  possible  and 
feasible  solution  of  a  problem  in  reading  which  many 
rural  teachers  and  even  grade  teachers  find  difficult. 


CHAPTER  VII 

READING:    THE  BEGINNINGS 

At  Six  Years  of  Age.  —  The  school  age  in  most  states 
is  placed  at  about  six.  Some  children  have  learned  to 
read  at  home,  from  their  brothers  and  sisters  or  their 
companions,  prior  to  that  time.  Many  young  children 
are  unusually  observant  and  keen,  and  these  pick  up 
reading  in  a  way  hardly  known  to  others  or  even  to 
themselves.  But  most  children  come  to  school  at  the 
age  of  six  with  an  ear  language,  only;  that  is,  all  the 
words  which  they  have  learned  are  sound  words.  They 
have  learned  them  by  hearing  them  repeated  over  and 
over  again  in  the  nursery  —  in  the  home.  Being  very 
imitative,  they  have  learned,  as  mere  babies,  to  speak 
these  words  after  hearing  them  repeated  frequently. 
The  number  of  words  which  children  know  by  sound  and 
which  they  then  use,  has  been  variously  estimated. 
Max  Mueller  once  said  that  the  common  English  peasant 
knows  only  three  hundred  or  four  hundred  words.  This, 
we  think,  must  be  greatly  underestimating,  unless  he 
refers  to  the  lowest  stratum  of  rude  and  crude  society 
where  people  express  themselves  in  very  few  words 
only.  But  the  average  American  child  who  has  been 
born  into  and  brought  up  in  an  EngHsh-speaking  home, 
knows  probably  from  fifteen  hundred  to  twenty-five 
hundred  words.     This  may  seem  an  overestimate,  but 

6i 


62  Fu7tdamentals  hi  Methods 

any  mother  with  a  child  of  this  age  can  verify  it  for 
herself.  A  child,  then,  comes  to  school  at  the  age  of  six 
with  a  vocabulary  of  at  least  fifteen  hundred  words 
which  he  knows  by  ear  and  can  repeat  vocally,  but  for 
which  he  has  no  visual  signs  in  the  way  of  print  or  script. 
From  the  Auditory  to  the  Visual.  —  The  aim,  then, 
of  the  school  and  of  the  teacher  is  to  make  the  transfer 
from  the  ear  language  of  the  child  to  the  eye  language 
—  to  a  system  of  visual  symbols  which  will  indicate  the 
same  meanings  as  the  auditory  language  which  he  al- 
ready has.  The  teacher  and  the  school  must  establish 
a  parallel  system  of  visual  symbols  corresponding  to  the 
system  of  ear  symbols  which  they  find  in  the  possession 
of  the  child.  From  now  on  the  function  of  the  school 
is  to  enable  the  child  to  gather  meaning  from  a  system 
of  visual  symbols  as  readily  as  he  has  been  accustomed 
to  gather  it  from  the  auditory  symbols  —  the  spoken 
words.  The  auditory  line  has  at  this  time  a  great  ad- 
vantage, a  great  lead,  and  the  problem  of  the  school  is 
to  enable  the  child  to  catch  up  in  the  race  along  the 
visual  road.  A  connection,  or  relation,  must  be  estab- 
Ushed  with  the  auditory  symbol  at  every  step,  and  the 
problem  now  is  how  to  begin  the  establishment  of  this 
system  of  relations,  how  to  enable  the  pupil  to  gather 
thought  from  the  printed  or  written  page  as  easily  as  he 
does  from  the  living  voice.  If  we  take  our  cue  from  the 
way  in  which  the  child  has  learned  the  meaning  of  spoken 
words  and  the  way  in  which  he  has  learned  to  express 
himself  orally,  we  shall  not  go  far  wrong.  .As  a  baby  the 
pupil  heard  the  same  words  over  and  over  and  over  again, 
and  the  connection  between  the  sound  words  thus  heard 


Reading:    The  Begmnings  63 

and  the  thing  or  act  indicated  was  established  by  the 
association  which  comes  from  repetition.  It  is  a  fact 
that  when  two  things  have  been  associated  together 
many  times  and  one  of  these  is  later  brought  to  mind 
it  brings  the  other  with  it. 

The  Word,  the  Basis.  —  Now,  it  would  seem  that  the 
word  is  the  meaningful  thing  in  learning  the  visual 
symbols  as  it  was  in  learning  the  auditory  symbols. 
If  the  written  or  printed  word  be  associated  several 
times  with  the  particular  thing  or  act,  the  association 
becomes  a  habit  and  the  bond  or  connection  is  estab- 
lished between  the  word  and  the  meaning.  It  would 
seem,  then,  that  what  might  be  properly  termed  a 
''  word  method  "  of  some  kind  is  the  most  logical  and 
psychological  plan  in  the  teaching  of  reading  to  beginners. 

Methods  and  Methods.  —  There  have  been,  it  is  true, 
many  discussions  in  regard  to  the  word  method,  the 
letter  method,  the  sentence  method,  and  many  variations 
of  these,  designated  "  methods  "  by  persons  who  have 
exploited  themselves  or  been  exploited  by  their  pub- 
lishers. There  have  been  inflated  treatises  on  such 
methods,  as  there  have  been  on  methods  and  systems 
of  developing  the  power  of  memory.  Whole  systems 
have  been  worked  out  and  the  accent  or  emphasis 
placed  upon  some  one  method  as  a  specific.  These 
have  frequently  been  Kke  inverted  cones;  too  much 
has  frequently  been  made  of  a  particular  phase  or 
aspect  of  the  method  of  teaching  children  how  to  read ; 
for,  when  all  is  said  and  done,  the  fundamental  problem 
is,  how  to  establish  such  a  relation  between  visual 
symbols  and  what  they  stand  for,  that  the  mere  sight  of  a 


64  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

word  or  of  words  will  bring  the  meaning  at  once,  and 
also  so  that  the  word  will  have  but  one  definite  form 
engraved  upon  the  mind  of  the  child. 

Words,  whether  spoken  or  written,  are  merely  symbols ; 
they  are  merely  the  go-between  or  medium  between  the 
mind  of  the  child  and  the  meaning  implied  or  involved. 
Words  in  this  way  are  of  no  use  if  they  bring  to  mind  no 
meaning ;  they  are  then  only  shells  or  husks.  The  great 
problem  of  the  teacher,  therefore,  is  to  see  to  it  that  when 
a  word  is  presented  to  the  child  it  instantly  raises  in  his 
mind  its  proper  meaning. 

Teaching  Foreign  Children  to  Read.  —  If  a  child 
comes  to  school  at  the  age  of  six  and  does  not  know  the 
EngHsh  language,  the  teacher  has  a  double  task  on  hand. 
The  child  must  learn  two  languages;  that  is,  he  must 
learn  a  system  of  sounds,  or  the  auditory  language,  and 
a  system  of  visual  symbols,  or  the  eye  language.  This  is 
frequently  a  great  difficulty  in  schools  where  some  or  all 
of  the  children  are  of  foreign  parentage  and  where  their 
vernacular  is  some  other  language  than  the  EngHsh. 
In  such  a  situation  the  teacher  should  spend  much  time 
in  teaching  the  auditory  language ;  that  is,  in  teaching 
the  children  the  sound-words  for  all  the  common  objects, 
actions,  attributes,  and  relations ;  and  also  the  way  to 
utter  and  use  them  correctly.  The  writer,  as  county 
superintendent,  once  visited  a  school  where  this  was 
the  pressing  problem  of  the  hour.  The  children  were  all 
learning  the  English  language  and  the  teacher  there 
had  this  double  duty  to  perform. 

Like  the  true  teacher,  he  had  won  the  children  over  to 
his  side  and  had  rendered  them  sensitive  and  suggestible 


Reading:    The  Beginnings  65 

to  all  his  wishes  and  instructions.  The  children,  of 
course,  wished  to  learn  to  speak  the  EngHsh  language, 
and  their  parents  greatly  desired  it  also.  This  was  what 
the  children  were  being  sent  to  school  for ;  this  was  well 
understood  by  the  parents,  the  pupils,  and  the  teacher. 
The  teacher  did  not  wish  his  work  to  be  undone  by  having 
the  children  speak  their  own  vernacular,  or  foreign  lan- 
guage, at  recess  and  noons  upon  the  playgrounds.  He 
wished  them  to  practice  speaking  the  EngHsh  language, 
and  so  he  had  worked  them  up  to  a  point  where  they 
had  agreed  among  themselves  to  speak  nothing  but 
EngHsh  upon  the  playground.  He  had  a  motto,  "  Speak 
the  EngHsh  language,"  in  large  letters  upon  the  wall 
over  his  desk  where  all  the  pupils  could  see  it.  Before 
dismissing  the  school  at  recess  he  said  to  them,  ^'  Now, 
what  must  we  remember  to  do,  out  upon  the  playground 
at  recess?  "  and  they  all  answered  loudly  and  in  con- 
cert, "  Speak  the  EngHsh  language."  It  was  noticeable, 
too,  that  they  carried  out  the  motto  to  the  letter  and  in 
spirit,  and  thus  the  teacher  was  greatly  aided  in  his 
teaching  by  wilHng  cooperation  on  the  part  of  the  pupils 
themselves. 

The  Alphabet  Method.  —  We  said  that  the  word 
method,  or  some  form  of  it,  seems  to  be  the  natural  way 
for  pupils  to  begin.  The  writer  once  knew  a  boy  about 
seven  years  of  age  who  spent  three  whole  months  learning 
the  alphabet  by  the  old  method  then  in  vogue.  Then 
the  teacher  even  had  to  promise  him  a  pound  of  candy 
the  last  day  if  he  should  know  all  his  letters,  when  some 
visitors  were  to  be  on  hand.  This  pupil  was  a  normal 
boy  and  later  became  a  successful  business  man.     Here 


66  Fundarnentals  m  Methods 

was  a  boy  who  had  spent  three  months  learning  twenty- 
six  symbols  and  had  probably  forgotten  many  of  them  a 
few  days  after  the  term  had  closed.  This  seems  Hke 
a  woeful  waste  of  time  and  energy;  the  twenty-six 
letters,  in  themselves,  meant  nothing  to  him  after  three 
months  of  pedagogical  malpractice.  If  the  word  method 
or  combinations  and  variations  of  it  had  been  introduced 
and  used,  this  boy  would  probably  have  learned  to  read 
quite  well  within  that  time.  But  he  was  given  no  key 
with  which  to  open  doors,  no  tool  with  which  to  work. 
Letters  are  somewhat  compKcated  things  to  the  child 
mind,  and  when  they  mean  nothing  —  when  they  produce 
nothing  and  do  nothing  —  it  would  seem  that  such  a 
method  when  used  exclusively  must  be  a  wrong  one. 
Of  course  many  great  men  and  women  have  learned  to 
read  by  the  letter  method,  but  they  have  probably  done 
so  in  spite  of  it  rather  than  on  account  of  it.  To  begin 
with  letters  is  to  begin  too  far  down  with  the  elements  of 
language.  It  would  be  better  to  begin  with  a  word 
which  has  a  meaning  and  then  to  allow  or  to  induce  a 
a  child  as  soon  as  he  wishes  or  as  soon  as  he  can,  to  arrive 
at  a  recognition  of  these  letter  elements.  Children 
should  be  allowed  and  even  encouraged  to  analyze  a  word 
as  soon  as  possible.  Some  teachers,  it  is  true,  refrain 
from  teaching  letters  at  all  until  quite  late,  and  even 
take  some  pains  to  keep  the  names  of  the  letters  from 
their  pupils.  This,  we  think,  is  a  mistake.  While  some 
of  these  names  are  in  no  way  significant  of  their  sounds 
or  powers,  some  of  them  are  quite  so;  and  every  little 
bit  helps.  Children,  like  adults,  hke  to  know  what 
things  are  called;  and  this  is  well,  for  a  name  is  an  intro- 


Reading:    The  Beginnings  67 

duction.  If  a  child  learns  on  the  side  or  in  any  manner 
the  names  and  powers  of  the  letters,  he  is  so  far  ahead. 

The  Phonic  Key.  —  A  child  should  be  taught  to 
notice  the  sound,  or  what  is  called  the  power  of  the  letter, 
as  soon  as  he  is  ready  for  it.  Some  children  reach  this 
phonic  stage  much  earher  than  others.  This  plan  of 
noting  and  using  the  sounds  of  the  letters  by  the  children 
and  of  employing  it  by  the  teacher  is  called  the  "  phonic 
method."  Instead  of  being  called  a  method,  however, 
it  is  simply  a  phase  of  the  observation  and  learning 
process.  If  the  children  note  the  sound  of  a  letter 
and  what  it  does  in  a  word,  the  teacher  should  take 
advantage  of  this  sound-key  and  use  it  whenever  and 
wherever  possible.  No  one  method  should  be  employed 
to  the  exclusion  of  others ;  in  life  everywhere  we  should 
take  advantage  of  everything  that  offers  itself ;  and  so, 
where  the  children  notice  the  sounds  of  letters  and  can 
put  these  sounds  together,  they  have  acquired  what 
might  be  called  the  phonic  key.  They  will  be  enabled 
to  use  this  key  in  unlocking  the  sound  and  hence  the 
meaning  of  new  words.  A  little  girl  of  three  years  who 
had  learned  much  from  her  brothers  and  sisters  and  from 
companions  in  regard  to  reading,  came  to  her  father  one 
day,  pointing  out  to  him,  with  her  finger,  two  words  and 
saying  :  ''  That  is  cat  and  that  is  cats  "  ;  and  then  point- 
ing to  the  letter  "  s,"  she  asked,  "  Is  that  the  little  thing 
that  says  '  s-s '  ?  "  This  Httle  girl  had  arrived  at  the 
phonic  stage.  She  was  just  beginning  to  be  observant 
of  sounds  and  thus  was  enabled  to  use  the  phonic  key. 

The  good  primary  teacher  who  has  been  over  the  road 
many  times  will  have  a  carefully  selected  list  of  words 


68  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

which  will  guide  the  class  toward  phonic  material  and 
give  them  revelations  in  the  use  of  their  key.  There  are 
several  families  of  words,  that  is,  words  which  follow 
some  law  of  similar  sound ;  and  when  the  child  becomes 
acquainted  with  the  phonics  of  such  words  and  then 
comes  upon  a  new  word  embodying  the  same  letters  or 
groups  of  letters  he  is  enabled  to  unlock  it  by  his  phonic 
key.  He  is  thus  stimulated  to  new  conquests  and 
aroused  to  greater  enthusiasm. 

A  Case  in  Beginnings.  —  A  superintendent  of  schools 
in  a  small  western  city  was  accustomed  to  supervise 
the  first  few  months  of  the  teaching  of  reading  in  his 
schools  somewhat  on  the  following  plan :  He  had  five 
first  grades  in  five  different  buildings  in  the  city,  and  it 
was  his  custom  to  ride  his  bicycle  from  one  building  to 
another.  When  these  five  teachers  began  their  work 
in  the  fall  he  would  visit  them  alternately  on  the  same 
day.  He  would  ask  Miss  A  how  many  words  she  had 
taught  up  to  date;  he  would  then  visit  Miss  B's  room 
and  ask  her  how  many  words  she  had  taught.  If  she 
said  fifteen,  he  would  tell  her  that  Miss  A  had  taught 
only  ten.  On  visiting  Miss  C's  room  he  asked  the  same 
question,  and  if  he  found  out  that  she  had  taught  only 
seven,  he  would  say  that  Miss  A  had  taught  ten  and  Miss 
B  fifteen.  As  he  made  the  rounds  in  this  manner  the 
information  about  one  teacher  would  serve  as  a  guide  to 
another,  and  so  the  five  teachers,  by  knowing  what 
each  was  doing,  kept  along  pretty  nearly  together. 

The  First  Three  Months.  —  His  plan  was  to  have  the 
words  and  their  combinations  found  on  a  particular 
chart,  taught  first  in  script,  by  having  them  written 


Reading:    The  Beginnings  69 

upon  the  board  by  the  teacher  and  the  pupils.  There  are 
from  three  hundred  to  four  hundred  different  words  in 
the  ordinary  chart.  All  of  these  were  mastered  by  the 
pupils  in  about  three  months.  The  teacher  wrote  the 
words  in  a  good,  round,  legible  hand,  suggesting  similari- 
ties to  the  printed  letters.  She  did  not  print  the  letters, 
but  her  script  was  round  and  plain.  When  her  pupils 
could  recognize  instantly  all  of  the  words  of  the  chart 
thus  written  in  script  upon  the  blackboard,  the  chart 
itself  was  opened  and,  as  the  superintendent  put  it, 
the  pupils  were  rushed  thru  it.  Pupils  will  pass  from 
script  to  print  much  more  easily  and  rapidly  than  from 
print  to  script;  and  so  all  of  these  children  made  the 
transfer  from  the  script  to  the  corresponding  print  words 
in  the  chart,  in  a  very  short  time  —  in  about  two  weeks. 

First  Readers.  —  A  standard  first  reader  was  then 
taken  up  in  each  of  these  rooms.  When  this  was  read 
thru,  it  was  sent  to  another  building.  A  first  reader  of 
another  series  was  then  taken  up  and  read,  and  when  this 
in  turn  was  completed  it  followed  the  first  to  another  build- 
ing, and  a  third  first  reader  was  read.  By  the  end  of  the 
year  the  pupils  in  each  room  had  thus  finished  six  first 
readers,  the  regular  text  and  five  supplementary  readers. 

The  Test  of  the  Pudding.  —  The  writer  had  the  pleas- 
ure of  visiting  one  of  these  rooms  near  the  close  of  the 
year,  and  he  can  testify  that  he  has  seldom  heard  such 
excellent,  childlike  reading.  Sometimes  reading,  even 
in  higher  grades,  is  childish,  rather  than  childHke.  All 
of  the  children  seemed  enthusiastic  and  desirous  of  being 
allowed  to  read  in  the  presence  of  the  school  and  of  the 
visitors.     In  this  test  the  superintendent  would  ask  the 


70  Fundamentals  i7i  Methods 

class  to  turn,  for  example,  to  page  76.  This  indicated 
that  they  had,  incidentally,  learned  to  count  and  to 
recognize  numbers.  He  then  told  the  class  to  read 
silently  a  certain  portion  of  that  page  and  to  be  able, 
if  called  upon,  to  read  it  aloud.  This  indicated  that 
they  had  been  taught  the  habit  of  first  getting  the  thought 
before  attempting  to  give  it.  He  would  then  inquire 
who  wished  to  read  that  portion  for  him.  All  hands  were 
up,  indicating  great  anxiety  to  be  allowed  the  privilege. 
He  would  then  point  out  some  particular  child,  and 
invariably  each  acquitted  himself  or  herself  in  a  simple 
but  masterly  manner.  It  was  better  reading  than  is 
often  heard  in  the  third  or  fourth  reader.  It  may  be 
that  in  some  schools  more  is  done  in  one  year  than  a 
reading  chart  and  six  first  readers ;  but  whatever  is  done 
and  however  it  is  done,  the  aim  is  accompHshed  when 
the  pupils  at  the  end  of  the  year  are  able  to  glean  the 
thought  understanding^  from  the  printed  page  and 
then  to  express  it  feefingly,  naturally,  and  well. 

Expression  in  Writing.  —  The  writer  once  visited  a 
school  where  the  children  were  reading  on  the  last 
pages  of  a  first  reader  but  had  not  yet  learned  to  write 
a  single  word.  This,  of  course,  was  a  great  mistake. 
When  children  come  to  school  they  have,  as  we  said, 
fifteen  hundred  or  more  words  in  the  auditory  line  and 
are  able  to  express  themselves  orally.  After  several 
months  or  a  year  the  children  should  be  well  along  on 
the  visual  road  and  should  be  able  to  express  themselves 
fairly  well.  The  ability  to  speak  followed  closely  upon 
the  recognition  of  sound  words  in  babyhood;  and  now 
the  ability  to  write  should  follow  closely  upon  the  heels 


Reading:    The  Beginnings  71 

of  the  ability  to  recognize  sight  words;    this  is  part  of 
the  problem  of  reading  in  the  first  grade. 

The  Pupil  Dependent  in  Reading  and  Cognate  Sub- 
jects. —  Some  one  has  said  that  the  child  is  under  no 
great  obHgation  to  his  teacher  for  the  understanding 
which  he  gets  of  numbers  in  his  first  year ;  he  would  get 
this  incidentally  and  on  the  side  and  in  any  event.  But 
he  is  under  lasting  obHgation  to  her  for  the  progress  he 
makes  in  learning  to  read.  Reading,  moreover,  is  the 
mother  of  several  other  subjects :  In  its  beginnings  it 
embodies  spelling,  writing,  and  language  work,  and 
these  three  all  come  in  for  attention  while  the  child  is 
learning  to  read;  in  fact,  they  are  a  part  of  what  is 
called  reading.  All  these  are  important  and  should  be 
attended  to  while  the  reading  process  is  being  learned; 
but  they  are  all  so  wrapped  up  with  reading  that  they  do 
not  require  a  special  time  of  their  own  until  later  on  in 
the  school  curriculum.  Being  conventional  and  forming 
a  part  of  the  tool  needed  for  further  progress,  they  can 
not  be  picked  up,  like  number  concepts,  on  the  side,  but 
must  be  acquired  from  the  teacher  and  the  school. 

Form  and  Content  in  the  Tool  Stage.  —  This  is  the 
tool  stage  in  the  reading  process.  The  child  is  learning 
how  to  use  the  tool  which  will  be  indispensable  in  every 
field  later.  But  the  best  way  to  learn  to  use  any  tool  is 
to  use  it  in  doing  something  worth  while.  The  old  idea 
and  the  old  practice  in  teaching  reading  used  to  be  to 
keep  children  merely  marking  time  upon  combinations 
of  words.  Silly  sentences  were  constructed  that  were 
as  devoid  of  meaning  as  a  crane's  leg  is  of  feathers.  In 
some  of  the  old  books  used  to  be   the  words,  "  ax,," 


72  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

"  ox,"  and  then  the  sentence,  '*  Is  it  an  ax  or  an  ox?  " 
It  was  thought  that  children  had  to  be  kept  using  the 
tool  on  almost  nothing  for  weeks  and  months,  just  as  the 
boy  who  had  spent  three  months  learning  the  alphabet 
and  then  could  not  use  it  as  a  tool.  This  same  practice 
has  been  too  much  in  vogue  in  other  fields :  In  manual 
training  boys  used  to  be  kept  on  the  making  and  fitting 
of  a  joint  for  weeks  and  weeks.  The  consequence  was 
that  they  became  tired  of  it  all  and  lost  interest  in  it. 
They  were  kept  making  joints  merely  for  the  sake  of 
making  them  instead  of  making  them  while  making 
something  useful.  This  same  pedagogical  vice  is  often 
found  in  the  teaching  of  music :  Music  pupils  are  often 
kept  going  over  the  scales  for  weeks  when  they  long  to 
play  something.  They  are  kept  so  long  upon  the  form 
without  any  content  that  they  lose  interest  in  their 
music  altogether.  The  ''  merciful  "  dummy  in  the  form 
of  a  muffled  piano  is  a  merciless  stifler  of  interest  and 
development  in  the  musical  Hfe  of  the  child.  It  is  good 
pedagogy  to  do  something  worth  while  with  a  tool  just  as 
soon  as  the  use  of  the  tool  is  learned.  There  should  be 
some  content  to  work  upon.  Hence,  children's  stories  and 
other  interesting  content  should  be  the  subject-matter  of 
charts  and  first  readers.  The  charts  and  readers  of  recent 
years  are  good  in  this  respect,  with  probably  a  tendency 
to  make  them  too  childish  and  girlish. 

Words  —  Total,  Known,  and  Used.  —  One  of  the 
problems  in  teaching  children  to  read  is  to  bring  words 
which  were  before  unknown  into  the  known  class,  and 
then  to  bring  them  from  the  known  class  into  the  used 
class.     There  is  a  great  difference  between  these.     There 


Reading :    The  Beginnings  73 

are  probably  in  the  English  language  100,000  words 
fully  angHcized  and  of  definite  use.  Of  these  probably 
40,000  are  known  to  the  average  intelligent  person. 
But  it  is  probable  that  not  more  than  one  fourth  of  the 
words  which  one  knows  are  in  his  vocabulary ;  that  is, 
are  used  by  him.  If  any  one  should  desire  to  find  out 
how  many  words  he  knows,  he  can  estimate  it  in  a  few 
minutes :  Let  him  turn  at  random  to  a  page  in  an  un- 
abridged dictionary;  count  the  words  in  one  column, 
and  count  the  number  of  these  which  he  knows ;  he  may 
get  a  ratio,  say,  of  one  third.  Then  let  him  turn  at 
random  to  another  page  and  count  the  words  in  a  column 
and  the  number  of  these  which  he  knows ;  he  may  here 
get  a  ratio  of  two  sevenths.  Let  him  do  likewise  with 
several  columns,  from  pages  taken  at  random.  Averag- 
ing the  fractional  ratios  will  give  the  average  ratio  of 
the  known  words  to  the  total  number.  If  the  average 
ratio  be  two  fifths,  and  the  total  number  of  words  in  the 
dictionary  be  about  100,000,  it  would  mean  that  a  person 
knows  about  40,000  words. 

It  is  said  that  Shakespeare  used  in  all  his  works  about 
15,000  words:  This  was  his  vocabulary.  Milton  used 
about  8000  words.  There  is  no  reason  why  the  average, 
intelligent  person  of  to-day  should  not  know  and  use  as 
many  words  as  either  of  these  writers.  Merely  using 
them,  however,  is  far  from  using  them  in  the  Miltonic  or 
Shakespearian  manner. 

In  the  process  of  reading,  the  general  aim  being  the 
gleaning  and  the  expressing  of  thought,  pupils  should  be 
taught  to  express  themselves  both  orally  and  in  writing 
—  both  by  the  tongue  and  by  the  hand. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

READING:    SAMPLE  LESSONS 

I.   The  Recessional 

Aims  and  Methods  Similar.  —  The  proper  methods  of 
acquiring  proficiency  in  reading  and  in  the  teaching  of 
reading  are  very  much  the  same  from  the  second  grade 
in  the  elementary  school  to  the  college  and  university. 
After  the  tool  stage  has  been  passed  and  pupils  are 
able  to  use  this  tool,  or  master  key,  with  proficiency 
the  aim  and  the  means  are  very  similar  in  all  grades 
and  stages. 

The  Presentation.  —  Having  given  the  fundamental 
principles  (Chap.  V),  a  lesson  on  criticism  (Chap.  VI), 
and  one  on  special  methods  in  learning  to  read  (Chap. 
VII),  let  us  take  a  couple  of  examples  and  illustrate  some 
phases  of  the  method  and  procedure  of  the  teacher 
and  the  class  while  engaged  upon  them.  Suppose  the 
selection  chosen  for  study  and  reading  were  Kipling's 
Recessional : 

Recessional 

God  of  our  fathers,  known  of  old  — 
Lord  of  our  far-flung  battle  line  — 

Beneath  whose  awful  hand  we  hold 
Dominion  over  palm  and  pine  — 

Lord  God  of  Hosts,  be  with  us  yet, 

Lest  we  forget  — •  lest  we  forget ! 
74 


Reading:    Sample  Lessons  75 

The  tumult  and  the  shouting  dies  — 

The  captains  and  the  kings  depart ; 
Still  stands  thine  ancient  sacrifice, 

An  humble  and  a  contrite  heart. 
Lord  God  of  Hosts,  be  with  us  yet, 
Lest  we  forget  —  lest  we  forget ! 

Far-called  our  navies  melt  away  — 
On  dune  and  headland  sinks  the  fire  — 

Lo,  all  our  pomp  of  yesterday 
Is  one  with  Nineveh  and  Tyre ! 

Judge  of  the  nations,  spare  us  yet, 

Lest  we  forget  —  lest  we  forget ! 

If,  drunk  with  sight  of  power,  we  loose 

Wild  tongues  that  have  not  Thee  in  awe  — 

Such  boasting  as  the  Gentiles  use 
Or  lesser  breeds  without  the  law  — 

Lord  God  of  Hosts  be  with  us  yet, 

Lest  we  forget  —  lest  we  forget ! 

For  heathen  heart  that  puts  her  trust 

In  reeking  tube  and  iron  shard  — 
All  valiant  dust  that  builds  on  dust. 

And  guarding  calls  not  Thee  to  guard  — 
For  frantic  boast  and  foolish  word. 
Thy  mercy  on  thy  people,  Lord ! 
Amen. 

This  poem  is  now  before  the  class,  either  offered  by 
one  of  the  members  or  suggested  by  the  teacher.  There 
are,  of  course,  several  different  methods  of  approach 
and  the  following  would  be  one.  The  teacher,  having 
made  due  preparation  herself  in  regard  to  the  situation 
and  the  occasion  of  the  poem,  would  present  it  somewhat 
as  follows : 


76  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

Preparatory  Information  by  the  Teacher  or  Pupils.  — 
On  the  occasion  of  Queen  Victoria's  Golden  Jubilee, 
on  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  her  accession  to  the  English 
throne,  there  was  planned  a  great  miHtary  and  naval 
display.  The  EngHsh  navy  had  been  called  from  all 
parts  of  the  earth  and  the  EngHsh  army  was  on  parade. 
Ministers,  diplomats,  and  ambassadors  from  nearly  all 
civilized  countries  were  present  to  do  honor  to  the  queen, 
and  graced  the  occasion.  Princes  and  kings  were  the 
guests  of  England.  It  was  a  gala  time  and  all  Britain 
was  full  of  cheer  and  of  praise  for  her  beloved  queen. 
All  nations  paused  to  do  her  honor  and,  in  doing  her 
honor,  to  honor  the  British  empire.  It  was  an  occasion 
that  might  well  cause  undue  pride  in  any  nation. 

Rudyard  KipHng,  seeing  this  danger,  was  inspired  with 
the  happy  thought  of  embodying  it  in  what  is  probably 
his  greatest  poem.  It  occurred  to  him  that  such  homage 
and  adulation  might  easily  "  turn  the  head "  of  the 
EngHsh  nation  and  make  it  lose  itself  in  pride.  The 
prayer  in  the  Recessional  is  one  for  deHverance  from 
this  danger.  In  imagination  it  was  supposed  to  be  sung 
while  the  people  receded  from  the  churches  after  the  prin- 
cipal ceremony  of  the  Jubilee  celebration.  SymboHcally 
it  is  a  prayer  for  the  preservation  of  England's  humiHty 
while  the  great  ones  of  the  earth  who  had  come  to 
England  to  praise,  if  not  to  flatter  her,  were  receding  to 
their  homes  in  distant  countries. 

The  above  would  be  a  simple  introduction  and  prep- 
aration given  to  the  class  in  connection  with  the  assign- 
ment of  this  beautiful  selection  which  is  to  be  studied, 
discussed,  and  explained  with  individual  variations  by 


Reading:    Sample  Lessons  77 

the  pupils  and  the  teacher  the  succeeding  day.  The 
introduction  given  by  the  teacher  would  constitute  a 
kind  of  apperception  mass  —  the  avenue  of  approach 
to  the  study  of  the  poem.  It  would  give  the  general 
situation  in  view  of  which  many  of  the  words,  phrases, 
and  allusions  would  be  explained  or  understood. 

Work  for  the  Pupils.  —  In  addition  to  the  foregoing 
explanatory  introduction  by  the  teacher,  many  questions, 
left  unasked  and  unanswered  for  the  present,  would  be 
a  propos  and  forthcoming.  Up  to  this  point  the  teacher 
has  told  probably  as  much  as  she  should.  She  has 
given  some  instruction,  some  knowledge  of  the  situation, 
and  this  is  one  function,  as  we  saw,  of  the  recitation. 
She  has  given  the  approach  and  prepared  the  minds  of  the 
class  for  the  reception  and  the  study  of  the  poem.  She 
has  enhsted  their  interest  and  probably  raised  many 
questions  in  their  minds.  This,  as  we  saw,  was  another 
function  of  the  recitation  period.  The  following  ques- 
tions might  well  be  asked  so  that  the  pupils  would  have 
something  definite  before  them  in  their  study  and 
solution  of  the  problem  in  hand.  This  problem  for  the 
first  succeeding  lesson  would  be  the  understanding  and 
the  liking  of  the  poem,  rather  than  the  reading  or  the 
expression  of  it,  which  should  come  later  and  should 
not  be  attempted  until  the  meaning  is  fairly  clear  and 
until  there  is  a  decided  impulse  or  wish  in  the  minds  and 
hearts  of  the  pupils  to  read  or  express  it. 

Preliminary  Questions.  —  In  connection  with  the 
first  stanza  it  might  be  asked:  What  is  prayed  for? 
What  is  the  meaning  of  "  dominion  over  palm  and 
pine  "  ?    In  the  refrain,  where  it  says,  "  Lest  we  for- 


78  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

get !  ",  what  is  it  that  England  might  forget  on  such  an 
occasion  ? 

In  the  second  stanza  what  is  referred  to  in  ''  the 
tumult  and  the  shouting  "  ?  Who  were  ''  the  captains 
and  the  kings  "  ?  Whither  did  they  depart?  What  is 
specifically  meant  by  "  thine  ancient  sacrifice  '^  ? 

In  the  third  stanza  what  is  meant  by  "dune  and 
headland"  ?  What  "fire"  sinks?  What  is  meant  by 
"all  our  pomp  of  yesterday,"  and  by  being  "  one  with 
Nineveh  and  Tyre  "  ? 

In  the  fourth  stanza  what  is  the  meaning  of  "  drunk 
with  sight  of  power,"  and  of  "  loose  wild  tongues  "  ? 
Who  are  the  "  Gentiles  "  referred  to,  and  "  the  lesser 
breeds  "  ?     What  law  is  meant  in  ''  without  the  law  "  ? 

In  the  fifth  stanza  what  are  the  "  reeking  tube  and 
iron  shard  "  ?  What  is  meant  by  "  all  vaHant  dust 
that  builds  "  ?  What  is  prayed  for  in  the  last  stanza? 
When  was  this  Jubilee  ? 

The  above,  then,  is  the  preparation  and  the  assign- 
ment for  the  next  lesson.  The  pupils  have  been  put 
in  a  sympathetic  and  inquisitive  attitude;  they  have 
been  made  receptive  and  suggestible,  and  still  a  sufficient 
amount  of  work  is  left  for  them  to  do.  In  fact,  with 
all  the  time  at  their  disposal  and  with  their  best  abiHties 
they  will  not  be  able  to  get,  in  one  lesson,  the  fullness  of 
meaning  in  the  poem.  There  are  depths  and  depths  to 
a  great  poem,  as  there  are  to  a  great  truth.  There  will 
be  room  left  for  other  variations  of  meaning  and  of  read- 
ing in  this  poem ;  new  truths  will  be  continually  revealed, 
for  a  poetical  gem  is  like  a  diamond :  it  flashes  differ- 
ently with  every  turn  and  phase. 


Reading:    Sample  Lessons  79 

The  Old  Way  and  the  Poor  Way.  —  The  old  way  — 
and  the  way  which  is  even  now  altogether  too  common  — 
was  for  the  teacher,  without  making  any  previous  prep- 
aration or  investigation  of  the  succeeding  lesson,  and 
without  having  looked  ahead  to  see  what  the  lesson  was 
about  or  even  what  the  extent  of  it  was,  merely  to  assign 
the  next  lesson  or  sometimes  the  next  two  lessons,  and 
then  to  dismiss  the  class  without  a  single  question  in 
regard  to  the  meaning  of  pivotal  words  or  of  the  literary, 
historical,  or  scientific  allusions.  The  question,  "  What 
does  this  mean?  "  is  even  now  too  seldom  asked.  With 
such  methods  of  teaching  it  is  not  surprising  that  poor 
work  is  done,  not  only  in  reading,  but  in  all  subjects. 

Proximate  Analysis.  —  The  questioning  referred  to 
should  be  such  as  to  secure  what  might  be  called  a 
"  proximate  analysis "  of  the  panoramic  picture  in 
the  Recessional.  By  a  proximate  analysis  we  mean 
a  partial  analysis,  one  that  is  not  driven  too  deeply 
into  the  details  or  into  subject-matter  too  remote  and 
not  directly  relevant.  Succeeding  lessons  will  add 
much  to  the  first  day's  analysis  without  making  it 
ultimate,  even  when  the  class  leaves  this  lesson  for  the 
next.  By  ''  ultimate  analysis "  we  mean  one  which 
goes  beyond  the  purpose  at  hand  and  far  into  details. 
This  might  be  illustrated  by  the  study  of  a  great  oil 
painting :  it  is  worthy  of  a  certain  kind  of  analysis  but 
this  analysis  should  never  become  ultimate.  If  we 
should  go  up  to  the  picture  and  scrutinize  it,  either 
with  the  naked  eye  or  with  a  microscope,  so  that  the 
pigments  or  the  canvas  would  become  the  object  of  our 
attention  and  investigation,  instead  of  the  picture  as  a 


8o  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

whole,  we  should  have  what  may  be  called  an  ultimate 
analysis.  But  this  would  simply  destroy  the  picture. 
There  is  a  truth  in  this  illustration  which  should  not  be 
overlooked  in  the  study  of  any  work  of  art,  whether  it 
be  painting,  sculpture,  architecture,  music,  Uterature,  or 
rehgion.  Analysis  may  be  driven  so  far  that  the  pic- 
ture is  destroyed.  If  the  pupils  should  be  required  to 
dissect  the  Recessional  so  ultimately  that  their  minds 
would  dwell  upon  the  grammar,  the  language  work,  the 
writing,  the  spelHng,  or  the  syllables,  the  poem  itself, 
like  the  oil  painting,  would  be  destroyed.  Of  course, 
incidentally  and  for  special  reasons,  side  excursions 
might  be  taken  in  the  direction  of  ultimate  analysis, 
but  the  teacher  and  the  class  should  not  become  lost  in 
the  wilderness  but  should  retrace  their  steps  quickly  as 
soon  as  the  incidental  aim  has  been  attained.  The 
great  aim  in  the  study  of  the  poem  should  be  to  make  an 
artistic  picture  stand  out  clearly ;  and  the  class  and  the 
teacher  should  station  themselves  at  the  proper  point  of 
view. 

The  Reading.  —  When  the  poem  has  been  studied 
and  discussed  and  when  the  right  point  of  view  has  been 
found  and  the  picture  stands  out  in  all  its  beauty,  and 
when  the  pupils  become  possessed  of  a  love  of  it,  then  it 
is  time  to  begin  the  various  expressions  of  it  by  the 
teacher  and  the  pupils.  This  should  not  be  over-done 
on  any  occasion,  for  improvement  in  expression  will  still 
be  in  store  for  the  future.  In  fact,  members  of  the  class 
should  be  called  upon  or  should  be  allowed  to  read  this 
whole  poem  entire,  at  any  time  and  upon  any  occasion 
when  they  feel  the  impulse,  as  the  days  and  weeks  go 


Reading:    Sample  Lessons  8i 

by.  Like  the  old  song,  or  Kke  Booth's  rendering  of  the 
Lord's  Prayer,  the  reading  of  the  Recessional  should 
be  in  order  at  any  time. 

The  Return  Wave.  —  While  it  is  true  that  the  under- 
standing and  the  liking  of  a  selection  naturally  precede 
the  expression  of  it,  it  should  not  be  forgot  that  the 
cycle  returns  upon  itself,  and  that  the  oral  reading  acts 
like  a  relay  battery  in  augmenting  both  the  understand- 
ing and  the  appreciation.  To  read  or  sing  a  poem  tends 
to  further  illumine  the  intellect  and  to  warm  the  heart 
to  its  inward  meaning.  If  the  teacher  and  the  pu- 
pils could  sing  the  Recessional  as  set  to  music  by 
DeKoven,  for  instance,  the  appreciation  of  the  poem 
would  be  greatly  enhanced. 

A  Study  of  Details.  —  During  the  reading  of  this 
poem,  after  it  has  been  proximately  analyzed,  and  after  a 
love  of  it  has  been  engendered  in  the  hearts  of  the  pupils, 
reasonable  attention  should  be  paid  to  the  intonation, 
the  inflection,  and  the  emphasis  on  its  various  parts. 
Where  words  are  mispronounced  or  where  the  voice  is  not 
properly  inflected,  or  where  the  proper  emphasis  is  not 
given,  kindly  and  suggestive  criticism  should  be  ex- 
changed. This  should  always  be  of  the  suggestive  kind 
rather  than  of  the  adverse  type.  When  the  teacher 
and  the  pupils  have  all  had  the  opportunity  and  the 
privilege  of  reading  the  poem,  different  versions  will 
have  been  noticed  and  questions  will  be  raised  as  to 
why  certain  words  or  Hues  were  inflected  or  emphasized 
as  they  were.  For  example,  in  the  fourth  stanza  the 
question  might  be  raised  as  to  why  the  word  "  we  " 
should  be   specially  emphasized  —  "  Lest  we  forget !  " 


82  Fundamentals  iji  Methods 

Different  Versions.  —  Much  freedom  should  be  given 
pupils  in  regard  to  different  versions.  A  discussion 
over  what  may  seem  to  us  an  unreasonable  version,  on 
account  of  a  special  emphasis  by  a  pupil,  may  be  of 
great  value  to  him  and  the  class  if  he  has  become  con- 
vinced that  his  rendering  is  the  best.  Here,  as  else- 
where, it  is  what  arouses  to  growth  that  is  of  most  value 
as  a  means;  consequently  the  emphasis  and  inflection 
given  by  one  person  should  not  be  imposed  arbitrarily 
upon  another.  Expression  means  movement  from 
within  outward,  and  each  person  should  be  allowed 
considerable  freedom  in  expressing  his  own  thought  and 
feehng.  If  reasons  are  given  by  one  reader  which  will 
find  a  responsive  assent,  the  new  emphasis  or  inflection 
will  undoubtedly  be  adopted  by  others.  Here  there 
should  be  a  leveHng  up  to  good  reading,  which  consists 
in  the  simple  and  faithful  expression  of  the  real  situation 
in  a  truly  artistic  manner. 

Punctuation  and  Pauses.  —  All  artificial  rules  in 
regard  to  pauses  and  punctuation  should  be  avoided. 
In  the  older  days  most  of  us  were  taught  to  stop  long 
enough  at  a  comma  to  count  one;  at  a  semicolon,  to 
count  two ;  at  a  colon,  to  count  three ;  and  at  a  period, 
to  count  four !  All  this,  of  course,  is  pure  nonsense. 
Punctuation  marks  are  marks  of  sense  and  not  marks  of 
time.  We  frequently  stop  longer  where  there  is  no 
punctuation  mark  at  all  than  we  do  at  other  places 
where  there  is  a  period.  The  punctuation  marks  are 
intended  merely  to  indicate  the  meaning,  and  such 
rules  as  the  foregoing  would  make  reading  very  artificial 
and  conventional,  indeed. 


Reading:    Sample  Lessons  83 

Biography  of  the  Author.  —  At  some  time  during  the 
dicussion  of  this  selection  some  information  should  be 
secured  and  given  in  regard  to  the  author.  It  is  not 
well  in  the  teaching  of  reading  to  children  to  compel 
them  to  gather  all  the  detailed  facts  in  regard  to  the  Ufe 
of  an  author.  This  would  correspond  exactly  with  what 
we  called  ultimate  analysis  of  his  poem.  Enough  should 
be  known  about  him,  however,  to  throw  side  hghts  of 
interest  upon  the  selection.  Interesting  information 
in  regard  to  the  author  and  his  Hfe  might  be  given  by  the 
children  at  any  time  during  the  term.  Something, 
however,  should  be  known  in  regard  to  the  author  of 
a  selection  which  we  prize  and  which  we  are  reading. 
What  is  his  nationality  ?  Where  was  he  born  ?  Was  he 
ever  in  America  ?  What  are  some  of  his  other  writings  ? 
In  connection  with  this  last  question  the  class  might  be 
introduced  to  the  Jungle  Books.  A  Kttle  later  the  class 
might  be  asked  if  they  should  like  to  study  and  read 
another  poem  by  Rudyard  Kipling.  If  so,  one  might 
be  chosen.  His  Gunda  Din  was  given  by  one  critic 
among  the  first  ten  great  short  poems  in  the  language. 
Any  interesting  thing  that  might  be  reported  either  by 
the  teacher  or  by  the  pupils  in  regard  to  the  author  or  in 
regard  to  the  poem  that  is  being  studied  would  add  to 
the  Hterary  interest  of  all  concerned. 

II.   A  Tribute  to  Washington 

Avoid  too  much  Thoroness.  —  It  should  not  be  under- 
stood that  one  poem  should  be  completed  before  another 
is  taken  up.  In  fact,  there  is  scarcely  any  such  thing  as 
completing  a  poem.     The  poem,  like  the  song  or  the  great 


84  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

picture,  grows  upon  one  continually.  If  too  much  time 
is  spent  upon  it  before  there  is  any  change  to  another, 
the  pupils  might  well  tire  of  it.  There  is  such  a  thing 
as  too  much  thoroness.  It  is  a  very  common  mistake  for 
a  mature  and  scholarly  person  to  attempt  to  give  his 
complete  mental  picture  in  all  its  detailed  relations  to 
a  class  of  children.  The  mind  of  a  pupil  can  compre- 
hend only  so  much  and  only  what  it  is  prepared  to 
receive.  It  would  be  impossible,  for  example,  to  make  a 
child  understand  trigonometry.  The  same  is  true  of  the 
mental  picture  which  involves  deep  philosophical  and 
allegorical  ramifications  of  all  kinds.  As  there  is  a 
point  in  analysis  at  which  we  should  stop,  so  there  is  a 
point  in  the  conception  of  every  subject  beyond  which 
there  should  be  no  attempt  to  lead  a  class  until  they 
are  better  prepared.  There  are  depths  and  depths  of 
understanding,  as  there  are  depths  and  depths  to  a  truth. 
Too  much  thoroness  and  the  dwelHng  too  long  upon  a 
subject  frequently  tends  to  what  is  called  arrested  devel- 
opment or  else  it  creates  in  the  minds  of  pupils  an 
aversion  or  antipathy  to  the  subject  studied. 

Gems  in  Brief.  —  Short  selections  of  either  prose  or 
poetry  are  to  be  preferred  in  the  teaching  of  reading. 
Children,  we  think,  like  these  best,  and  they  have  the 
added  advantage  of  expressing  a  complete  unity.  They 
may,  too,  be  memorized  without  great  effort  and  when 
so  memorized,  understood,  and  loved,  they  will  scarcely 
ever  be  forgotten.  Children,  especially  in  the  grades, 
soon  tire  of  long  selections.  The  writer,  as  a  boy, 
remembers  very  vividly  that  he  always  preferred  to  hoe 
corn  crosswise  the  field,  taking  the  short  rows,  rather 


Reading:    Sample  Lessons  85 

than  lengthwise  where  the  rows  were  long  and  the 
changes  few.  So  it  is  with  selections  for  reading.  A 
gentleman  once  noticed  that  his  puppy  would  not  eat 
when  a  large  chunk  of  food  was  placed  before  him ;  but 
when  small  portions  were  broken  off  for  him,  the  puppy 
ate  them  with  great  avidity.  This  illustrates  a  principle 
in  teaching  children.  They  shrink  from  attacking  a  big 
task  but  may  be  induced  to  do  much  by  giving  to  them 
small  portions  which  do  not  paralyze  their  courage  and 
their  appetite. 

Another  Example.  —  To  give  another  example  of  teach- 
ing let  us  take  Byron's  tribute  to  Washington  —  a  beau- 
tiful gem  expressing  the  profound  appreciation  of  the 
great  American  by  the  great  English  poet.  It  runs  as 
follows : 

Where  may  the  wearied  eye  repose 
When  gazing  on  the  great  ? 
Where  neither  guilty  glory  glows, 
Nor  despicable  state  ? 
Yes,  one  —  the  first,  the  last,  the  best, 
The  Cincinnatus  of  the  West, 
Whom  envy  dared  not  hate  — 
Bequeathed  the  name  of  Washington, 
To  make  man  blush  there  was  but  one. 

The  Preparation  and  Questions.  —  The  above  poem, 
by  Byron,  is  rather  a  difficult  one  to  read  orally.  It 
should  not  be  attempted  by  the  class  until  it  has  been 
carefully  studied  and  discussed.  The  correct  pronuncia- 
tion of  several  pivotal  words  should  first  be  acquired. 
These  will  appear  in  the  following  questions,  which  will 
serve  as  a  preparation  lesson  and  give  the  class  an  aim 


86  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

in  the  study  of  the  poem.  The  teacher  should  see  to  ilr 
that  the  pupils  are  forming  the  dictionary  and  the 
encyclopedia  habits ;  that  is,  they  should  be  acquiring 
the  tendency  to  get  on  the  scent  of  the  meaning;  to 
chase  down  meanings  which  are  not  yet  fully  in  their 
possession.  Before  this  poem  is  undertaken  the  teacher 
should  have  introduced  the  class  to  Cincinnatus  and  to 
several  of  the  so-called  "  great "  in  history,  without 
telling  them  that  the  poem  was  to  be  read  later. 

Questions.  —  It  might  be  asked :  Why  is  the  eye 
wearied?  Who  are  the  "  great  "  probably  referred  to? 
Why  did  "  guilty  glory  glow  *'  ?  What  is  the  meaning 
of  these  three  words?  What  is  such  a  similarity  of 
sounds  as  is  found  here  called  ?  Watch  for  other  similar 
instances.  Find  the  correct  pronunciation  and  meaning 
of  ''  despicable."  Why  and  where  was  there  such  a 
"state"?  Who  was  Cincinnatus?  Who  was  the 
"Cincinnatus  of  the  West"?  What  is  envy?  Why 
did  it  not  "  dare  to  hate  "  Washington?  What  is  the 
grammatical  subject  of  "  bequeathed  "  ?  Why  should 
it  "  make  man  blush  "  that  there  was  but  one  Washing- 
ton? 

The  Emphasis  of  Time.  —  Time  is  an  essential 
element  in  good  reading.  This  is  well  illustrated  in  this 
poem.  What  is  known  as  the  emphasis  of  time  is  a 
much  finer  emphasis  than  the  emphasis  of  force.  Some 
words  should  be  drawn,  so  to  speak,  so  as  to  give  them 
meaning  —  time  to  settle  into  or  to  grow  into  the  mind 
of  the  hearer.  The  emphasis  of  time  is  very  expressive, 
and  good  readers  make  much  use  of  it.  In  the  sentence, 
"  Know  the  truth,  and  the  truth  will  make  you  free,"  the 


Reading:    Sample  Lessons  87 

meaning  becomes  much  more  impressive  if  the  last 
word,  "  free,"  is  drawn  or  given  more  time. 

In  the  foregoing  poem  the  teacher  should  carefully 
and  artistically  see  to  it  that  the  enunciation,  pronuncia- 
tion, and  emphasis  of  time  should  be  secured.  The 
teacher  can  always  do  this  best  thru  suggestion  and 
imitation.  The  most  artistic  teacher  is  the  one  who 
can  get  these  things  done  before  it  is  known  by  the 
pupils  how  they  are  done. 

In  order  to  impress  the  effect  of  time  the  class  might 
be  asked  whether  the  reading  of  the  above  poem  in 
fifteen  seconds  would  be  a  good  reading.  This  they 
may  try  out  experimentally  for  themselves  and  in  doing 
this  they  will  be  brought  face  to  face  with  the  value  of 
time  in  reading.  They  might  then  be  asked  if  thirty 
seconds  would  give  a  better  reading;  and  they  might 
even  try  forty-five  seconds.  Such  experiments  will 
bring  out  questions  and  discussions  of  various  kinds. 
The  old  perfunctory  criticism  that  '*  he  read  too  fast " 
might  then  assume  meaning  and  be  used  with  discretion. 

Reading  Period,  a  Holy  Time.  —  The  reading  period 
should  be  one  of  the  happiest  and  most  interesting 
in  the  child's  Hfe.  Some  one  has  said  that  the  reading 
period  should  be  a  "  holy  time,"  in  which  all  would 
be  both  serious  and  happy,  almost  forgetting  themselves 
and  the  passing  of  time.  If  beautiful  gems  of  literature 
are  introduced  —  and  none  but  such  should  be  intro- 
duced —  and  if  the  teacher  were  an  inspiration,  such  an 
end  and  aim  should  not  be  difficult  to  accomplish.  If 
these  methods  be  pursued,  the  children  will  look  forward 
to   the   reading   time  with  pleasure  instead  of  looking 


8S  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

forward  to  it  as  a  time  of  drudgery  and  as  a  task  to  be 
got  thru  with.  It  will  be  a  period  when  pupils  will 
come  "  out  of  their  shells  "  and  will,  in  a  true  sense, 
build  for  themselves  "  more  stately  mansions." 

One  Selection  May  Suggest  Another.  —  The  very 
mention  of  "  more  stately  mansions "  would  suggest, 
for  example,  in  the  last  paragraph,  The  Chambered 
Nautilus,  by  OUver  Wendell  Holmes.  His  Flower  of 
Liberty  would  lend  itself  beautifully  to  two  or  three 
recitation  periods.  Thus  one  thing  suggests  another; 
and  so  it  should  be  in  a  reading  class.  Hamlin 
Garland's  /  Love  My  Prairies  should  be  read  and  learned 
by  all  children  of  the  great  Northwest.  Lincoln's  Gettys- 
burg Address  would  be  a  beautiful  picture  to  hang 
upon  memory's  wall,  and  in  this  connection  the  class 
should  be  introduced  to  that  httle  gem.  The  Perfect 
Tribute,  by  Mary  Raymond  Shipman  Andrews. 
Tennyson's  Break!  Break!  Break!  gives  a  beautiful 
picture  —  but  we  merely  suggest  a  few;  the  list  can 
be  increased  indefinitely. 

Freedom  in  Details.  —  We  must  leave  the  working 
out  of  details  and  specific  methods  in  the  teaching  of 
reading  to  the  individual  teacher.  We  have  suggested 
the  foregoing  somewhat  general  methods,  that  some 
things  may  not  be  forgotten.  There  is  an  infinite  vari- 
ety wherein  these  general  principles  are  applicable ;  and 
so  within  this  scope  each  teacher  should  be  free  to  work 
out  her  own  plans  to  a  successful  result. 


CHAPTER  IX 

WORD   WORK:    THE  FORM 

Spelling,  or  Orthography.  —  In  learning  to  read, 
children  come  to  notice  sooner  or  later  the  parts,  or 
elements  of  words;  they  notice  that  the  same  letters 
occur  over  and  over  again,  and  that  in  the  same  word 
these  same  symbols  always  occur  in  the  same  consecu- 
tive order.  This  is  really  what  is  known  as  spelling,  or 
orthography.  Mere  spelHng  is  simply  one  phase  of 
word  work ;  the  proper,  the  conventional  arrangement,  or 
combination,  of  the  letters  in  the  word.  This  is  the 
implication  of  the  word  "  orthography,"  which  etymolog- 
ically  means  the  "  correct  writing  "  of  the  word.  Spell- 
ing, then,  emerges  from  reading  as  a  separate  exercise 
when  it  is  thought  best  to  have  a  period  in  which  the 
primary  attention  is  given  to  words,  as  words. 

Mere  Spelling,  not  Sufficient.  —  But  mere  spelling, 
or  simple  orthography,  is  only  a  small  part,  as  we  shall 
see,  of  the  work  which  should  be  done  by  both  teacher 
and  pupils  upon  words.  Consequently,  sooner  or  later, 
a  special  period  should  be  set  aside  for  what  is  usually 
called  spelling  or  orthography  but  which  should  properly 
be  much  more  comprehensive  than  the  implications  of 
these  terms.  In  fact,  it  has  been  a  prevalent  and 
widespread  mistake  on  the  part  of  teachers  to  be  sat- 
isfied with  the  mere  spelling  of  words.  In  former  days 
it  was  a  common  practice,  which  is  probably  too  prev- 

89 


90  Fundamentals  m  Methods 

alent  to-day,  to  assign  a  list  of  fifteen  to  twenty-five 
words  to  the  class  with  the  understanding  that  at  the 
next  recitation  period  these  words  were  merely  to  be 
spelled  correctly.  Frequently  this  was  all  that  was  done ; 
the  interesting  connotations  of  these  words  were  seldom 
discussed ;  the  meaning  or  definition  was  seldom  asked ;  or 
if  required  it  frequently  remained  as  obscure  as  the  word 
defined ;  it  was  defining  the  unknown  by  the  unknown. 
The  pupils  were  not  required  to  use  the  words  in  any  way. 
The  consequence  was  that  they  did  not  become  a  part  of 
the  pupil's  vocabulary ;  they  were  merely  isolated  things 
held  in  mind  for  the  time  being  by  pure  memory.  Being 
isolated,  they  were  dead  as  far  as  any  educational  value 
was  concerned;  and  a  dead  thing  in  the  mind  is  little 
better  than  a  dead  thing  anywhere  else. 

Syllabication,  Important.  —  If  the  correct  letters 
and  their  correct  sequence  in  the  word  are  important, 
it  must  also  be  important  to  know  the  larger  divisions, 
or  syllables,  of  a  word,  for  words  must  frequently  be 
divided  at  the  end  of  a  line;  consequently,  what  is 
called  syllabication  is  almost  as  important  as  spelling 
itself.  It  is  not,  however,  considered  as  serious  a  blunder 
to  divide  a  word  incorrectly  as  it  is  to  misspell  it.  It  is 
difficult  to  see  why  this  is  so,  but  most  conventions  are 
probably  beyond  complete  and  reasonable  explanation. 

Methods  of  Syllabication.  —  In  written  spelHng  the 
syllable  may  be  indicated  by  a  space  or  a  break,  while  in 
oral  spelhng  it  is  sufficient  to  indicate  it  by  a  pause. 
A  generation  or  two  ago  all  spelling  was  oral,  and  in 
many  places  syllabication  was  made  a  complex  art. 
What  is  known   as    ''  reduplication ''    was    quite   the 


Word  Work :    The  Form  91 

custom.  An  example  of  this  would  be  as  follows: 
The  teacher  would  pronounce  a  word,  say,  ''  convention- 
al." The  pupils  would  say :  ^'  c-o-n,  con;  v-e-n,  ven^ 
conven ;  t-i-o-n,  shun^  convention ;  a-1,  al;  conventional." 
This  is  entirely  unnecessary  and  a  waste  of  time  and 
energy.  The  purpose  was  probably  to  habituate  the 
pupil  in  syllabication  and  in  the  distinct  enunciation  of 
the  syllables;  but  these  ends  may  be  secured  without 
this  extreme  of  repetition. 

Another  plan  was  to  pronounce  each  syllable  as  it 
was  spelled,  without  repeating  the  syllables,  and  then, 
gathering  up  all  of  the  past,  pronounce  the  word  as  a 
whole ;  as  for  example,  in  the  word  "  pronunciation  "  ; 
the  pupils  would  say,  "  p-r-o,  pro;  n-u-n,  nun;  c-i,  ce; 
a,  a;  t-i-o-n,  shun;  pronunciation."  This  seems  also  an 
unnecessary  waste  of  time  and  attention  to  details.  It 
would  be  sufficient  to  give  the  letters  of  each  syllable  and 
to  make  a  sUght  pause  between  the  syllables,  as  for  ex- 
ample :  P-r-o,  n-u-n,  c-i,  a,  t-i-o-n,  pronunciation.  In  this 
case  the  enunciation  and  pronunciation  may  be  distinctly 
given  without  any  unnecessary  repetition  or  waste  of  time. 

In  Oral  Spelling.  —  In  spelling  exercises  and  speUing 
contests  only  one  trial  at  a  word  should  be  allowed.  To 
allow  more  than  this  results  in  mere  guessing.  Of 
course,  if  a  pupil  should  spell  a  word  thru,  and  then, 
when  he  has  heard  his  own  voice,  should  decide,  of  his 
own  accord  and  without  any  help  or  hint,  that  it  is 
incorrect,  he  should  be  allowed  to  change  his  mind  and 
give  a  new  verdict.  A  person  does  this  in  writing, 
where  he  receives  no  help,  and  the  same  should  be 
allowed  in  oral  spelHng.     This  is  quite  a  different  situa- 


92  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

tion  from  that  in  which  a  pupil  misspells  a  word  and  is 
told  that  he  has  spelled  it  incorrectly  and  that  he  may 
try  it  another  way. 

In  oral  spelhng,  when  the  teacher  has  distinctly  pro- 
nounced a  word  the  pupil  should  pronounce  it  in  turn. 
This  will  be  evidence  that  he  has  the  word  clearly  in 
mind.  The  pupil  should  then  give  the  letters  in  each 
syllable,  making  a  pause  between  the  syllables,  and  at 
the  close  should  pronounce  the  word  again  to  give  and 
to  get  a  sense  of  completeness. 

There  is  no  objection  to  introducing  into  the  spelUng 
exercise  some  sHght  rivalry,  by  recognizing  and  making 
known,  by  some  just  and  sensible  plan,  the  person  who  is 
the  most  successful  speller  and  who  has  made  the  best 
record  in  every  way. 

Pronunciation  and  Enunciation.  —  By  pronunciation 
we  mean  the  correct  sounding  of  the  word  as  a  whole, 
and  by  enunciation,  the  distinct  utterance  of  each  syl- 
lable. It  would  be  possible,  and  indeed  it  frequently 
happens,  that  the  enunciation  is  sufficiently  distinct 
while  the  pronunciation  of  a  word  is  incorrect.  It 
would  be  well  for  the  teacher  and  the  class  to  gather 
from  their  experience  a  Hst  of  words  which  are  usually 
mispronounced.  We  scarcely  ever  listen  to  a  speaker 
that  we  do  not  feel  that  he  has  mispronounced  some 
words.  We,  ourselves,  frequently  mispronounce  words 
for  years  without  knowing  it. 

The  writer  once  knew  a  man,  fifty  years  of  age,  a 
member  of  a  legislature,  who  was  surprised  one  morning 
to  find  that  there  are  two  r's  in  the  word,  February.  He 
had   always  pronounced  it   ^'  Febuary,"   omitting   the 


Word  Work:    The  Form 


93 


first  "  r."  It  might  be  said  that  the  spelling  of  the 
name  of  this  month  is  a  stumbling  block  to  many  others 
besides  this  lawmaker.  We  venture  to  give  here  the 
following  list  of  words  frequently  mispronounced  and 
suggest  that  the  teacher  and  the  pupils  add  to  it  such 
others,  from  time  to  time,  as  their  observation  and 
experience  may  furnish : 


Words  often  Mispronounced.  — 

1.  thither  27.  impious 

2.  extraordinary  28.  pedagogy 

3.  geography  29.  creek 

4.  history  30.  deficit 

5.  been  31.  civilization 

6.  attacked  32.  finance 

7.  discipline  z?)-  government 

8.  influence  34.  mirage 

9.  forehead  35.  zoology 

10.  mountainous  36.  won't 

11.  mamma  37.  squalor 

12.  obligatory  38.  photographer 

13.  slough  39.  lyceum 

14.  inquiry  40.  Arctic 

15.  drowned  41.  apparatus 

16.  bade  42.  ere 

17.  again  43.  Missouri 

18.  February  44.  laundry 

19.  sword  45,  sacrifice 

20.  often  46.  infamous 

21.  granary  47.  genuine 

22.  mischievous  48.  coagulate 

23.  hearth  49.  exaggerate 

24.  bellows  (in  a  forge)  50.  mercantile 

25.  papa  51.  architect 

26.  Iowa  52.  massacre 


94  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

DiflBicult  Sounds  for  Foreigners.  —  People  of  dif- 
ferent nationalities  have  their  own  peculiar  difficulties 
with  certain  sounds  and  words.  It  is  very  important 
that  teachers  see  to  it  that  children  at  an  early  age, 
before  the  habit  becomes  set  and  unchangeable,  be  taught 
the  correct  pronunciation  of  all  such  words.  Strange  as 
it  may  seem  the  difficulty  is  frequently  with  the  ear,  or 
the  hearing,  rather  than  with  the  ability  to  utter  the 
correct  sounds.  In  later  years  foreign  children  will 
thank  their  early  teachers  for  much  drill  at  the  right 
time  upon  such  words.  Frequently  teachers  have  a 
kind  of  false  modesty  which  prevents  them  from  cor- 
recting foreign  children  in  their  mistakes ;  but  the 
children  and  the  parents  of  these  children  wish  them  to 
learn  the  pure  and  exact  pronunciation  of  all  words. 
It  is  not  just  to  allow  them  to  acquire  a  false  pronun- 
ciation or  intonation  which  they  must  then  carry 
with  them  thru  life  in  conformity  with  established 
habits.  The  following  is  a  sample  list  of  words  contain- 
ing sounds  that  are  difficult  for  Scandinavian  children 
especially ;  many  of  these  words  and  sounds  are  trouble- 
some to  other  nationalities  also : 


The 

"y"  sounds: 

you 

yoke 

yes 

yonde] 

young 

year 

yellow 

The 

"j"  sounds: 

jury 

join 

joke 

James 

jacket 

jump 

John 

July 

The 

"th"  sounds 

the 

those 

taught 

tooth 

this 

them 

thru 

teeth 

Word  Work:    The  Form  95 

The  "th"  sounds  {continued)-. 

these  think  true  truth 

that  thought  throat  rhetoric 

The  "v"  or  "w"  sounds:  vote  wine 

wax  vine  vex  vinegar 

The  "  g  "  sounds :  gentle  gentlemen 

The  "u"  sounds: 

University  uniform  unit 

Oral  or  Written  Word  Work.  —  The  question  is  often 
raised  as  to  whether  spelling  should  be  oral  or  written. 
Arguments  are  given  in  favor  of  written  spelUng  to  the 
effect  that  it  is  the  kind  used  in  everyday  hf e ;  that 
under  this  practice  every  child  spells  every  word ;  that 
it  conduces  to  neatness  in  writing  words  in  columns ; 
that  it  has  more  definiteness,  being  put  down  in  black 
and  white  once  and  for  all. 

In  favor  of  oral  spelling  it  is  said  that  it  gives  an  oppor- 
tunity to  secure  distinct  enunciation  and  correct  pro- 
nunciation; that  it  is  an  exhilarating  mental  exercise, 
and  wakes  up  mind ;  that  it  gives  a  period  for  the  intro- 
duction of  a  reasonable  amount  of  rivalry;  and  that  it 
provides  a  public  appearance. 

If  we  grant  that  these  arguments  and  others,  for  and 
against,  are  vaHd,  the  question  as  to  whether  we  should 
have  oral  or  written  spelHng  would  depend,  then,  upon 
our  aim  and  upon  our  needs.  If  the  school  is  one  of 
foreign  children,  where  enunciation  and  pronunciation 
are  needed,  oral  spelling  should  properly  predominate ; 
while  if  the  school  is  one  composed  of  children  whose 
vernacular  is  the  EngUsh,  probably  written  spelling 
should  predominate. 


96  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

Rules  for  Spelling.  —  Spelling  in  the  English  language 
is  so  lawless,  unreasonable,  and  whimsically  conven- 
tional that  there  are  very  few  serviceable  rules.  When 
the  author  was  a  boy  he  studied  a  large  word  analysis  in 
which  there  were  sixteen  different  rules  for  spelling, 
and  as  he  remembers  it  now,  only  three  or  four  of  these 
were  ever  found  to  be  of  any  service.  The  writer  is 
inclined  to  think  that  the  learning  or  memorizing  of  more 
than  these  four  rules  would  be  time  wasted.  In  fact, 
doing  more  than  this  might  bring  confusion  rather 
than  help.  There  are  so  many  exceptions  in  English 
spelHng  that  even  these  four  rules  are  by  no  means  in- 
fallible. One  must  be  continually  on  his  guard  in  apply- 
ing them ;  but  they  are  not  difficult  and  may  often  come 
to  one's  rescue  in  time  of  need.  We  suggest  that  they 
be  given  consideration  and  discussion : 

1.  "Ei"  follows  ''c";  "  ie,"  all  other  letters:  e.g. 
receive  and  grieve. 

2.  Drop  the  final  silent  "  e  "  before  a  suffix  beginning 
with  a  vowel,  except  when  needed  to  keep  the  ''  c"  and 
''  g  "  soft ;  examples :  Min(e)ing,  serviceable,  chang(e)ing, 
changeable. 

Note:  "C"  and  "g"  are  soft  before  "  e,"  "i,"  and  "y"; 
and  hard  before  "  a,"  "  o,"  and  "  u." 

3.  Final  '^y  "  preceded  by  a  consonant  is  changed  to 
"  i "  on  taking  a  suffix  beginning  with  any  other  letter 
than  ''  i "  ;  lady,  ladies ;  fly,  flying. 

4.  Double  the  final  consonant  on  taking  a  suffix, 
only  when  all  the  following  conditions  obtain : 

(i)  When  the  word  ends  in  a  single  consonant. 


Word  Work :    The  Form  97 

(2)  When  this  consonant  is  preceded  by  a  single 
vowel, 

(3)  When  the  word  is  accented  on  the  last  syllable, 

(4)  When  the  suffix  begins  with  a  vowel :  e,g.  propel, 
propelHng ;  level,  leveHng. 

The  rules  for  spelling  are  formulations  of  mature 
minds  after  they  have  got  thru  the  spelling  process. 
No  child  learns  to  spell  by  rules ;  he  learns  by  observa- 
tion, repetition,  and  habit.  Consequently,  the  rules  for 
spelling  are  serviceable  only  where,  in  one  case  out  of  a 
hundred,  we  become  puzzled  over  the  spelling  of  certain 
types  of  words.  Too  much,  then,  should  not  be  made 
of  rules  for  spelHng. 

Writing  Misspelled  Words.  —  It  used  to  be  an  old 
custom  to  have  a  pupil  who  had  misspelled  a  word,  stay 
after  school,  often  as  a  kind  of  punishment,  and  write  it 
twenty-five,  fifty,  or  one  hundred  times,  depending  upon 
the  gravity  of  the  negligence.  This,  of  course,  is  poor 
psychology  and  poor  pedagogy.  In  the  first  place  it 
associates  punishment  with  the  learning  process  and 
with  the  subject  of  study ;  just  as  with  some  of  the  old- 
time  teachers,  a  familiar  form  of  punishment  was  to 
compel  a  child  to  hold  out  the  Bible  horizontally  at 
arm's  length  for  a  certain  numbers  of  minutes.  It 
was  a  device  not  specially  adapted  to  establishing  a 
loving  relation  between  the  child  and  the  Book.  The 
same  may  be  said  of  compelling  a  pupil  to  write  a  word  a 
hundred  times  for  the  double  purpose  of  preventing  a  rep- 
etition of  the  negligence  and  of  learning  to  spell  the  word. 
It  almost  invariably  happens  that  he  becomes  doubly 
negligent  and  writes  the  word  in  a  perfunctory,  listless, 


98  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

and  slovenly  way.  If,  perchance,  a  mistake  creeps  in 
anywhere  near  the  first,  this  will  probably  be  copied  to 
the  end.  It  is  repetition  without  thought  and  with  a 
feeling  of  aversion  to  the  school,  the  teacher,  and  the 
learning  process,  generally.  Instead  of  making  use 
merely  of  the  law  of  repetition  it  would  be  better  to 
call  the  child's  attention  to  the  form  of  the  word  and  to 
throw  around  it  a  lot  of  interesting  associations  that 
would  so  engrave  it  upon  his  memory  that  it  could  not 
be  forgotten.  If  the  word  were  so  presented  that  it 
would  become  a  part  of  his  very  self  and  have  a  definite 
form  he  could  not  forget  it. 

Words  Often  Misspelled.  —  To  awaken  interest  in 
spelling  it  would  be  well  for  the  teacher  and  the  pupils 
to  gather  a  list  of  common,  everyday  words  that  are 
often  misspelled.  This  Hst  should  be  added  to  from  day 
to  day  and  it  would  always  be  a  center  of  interest  and 
of  attention.    We  would  give  the  following  as  a  sample : 

1.  sieve  15.  hyacinth 

2.  peaceable  16.  chaise 

3.  edible  17.  surcingle 

4.  chronic  18.  tassel 

5.  chivalry  19.  relevant 

6.  shrewdness  20.  conceit 

7.  chasm  21.  Israel 

8.  nuisance  22.  ocular 

9.  lynx  23.  banana 

10.  secede  24.  ventilate 

11.  supersede  25.  battalion 

12.  Pharaoh  26.  Cincinnati 

13.  chamois  27.  siege 

14.  sycamore  28.  sibyl 


Word  Work:    The  Form 


99 


29.  Ithaca 

30.  Catiline 

31.  Apennines 

32.  February 

33.  abscess 

34.  absence 

35.  duteous 

36.  consensus 

37.  lily 

38.  census 

39.  yacht 

40.  privilege 

41.  elixir 

42.  sherbet 

43.  assassin 

44.  complexion 

45.  vengeance 

46.  leopard 

47.  crocodile 

48.  Pleiades 

49.  celery 

50.  asparagus 

51.  mistletoe 

52.  chocolate 

53.  alligator 


54.  niche 

55.  cholera 

56.  catarrh 

57.  leisure 

58.  Pentateuch 

59.  bicuspid 

60.  gorgeous 

61.  orchid 

62.  Macaulay 

63.  rhinoceros 

64.  Xerxes 

65.  Bismarck 

66.  Manila 

67.  Gethsemane 

68.  advantageous 

69.  Philippine 

70.  rarefy 

71.  surfeit 

72.  Cohseum 

73.  pastel 

74.  embarrass 

75.  gauge 

76.  stationery 

77.  marriageable 

78.  frolicky 


Diacritical  Marks.  —  Attention  should  be  directed, 
to  a  reasonable  extent,  to  what  is  called  diacritical 
marking.  This,  of  course,  was  begun  in  reading  during 
the  first  few  months  of  the  pupil's  schooling.  It  should 
not  be  forgotten,  however,  that  any  system  of  diacritical 
marks  is  merely  a  means  and  not  an  end.  Such  marks 
should  be  learned  and  used  only  when  needed,  just  as 
we  use  any  other  tool  —  only  when  it  is  serviceable. 
Diacritical  marks  are  merely  for  the  purpose  of  indicating, 


lOO  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

to  the  person  who  does  not  know,  the  sounds  of  the  letters, 
so  that  he  may  infer  how  the  syllable  is  to  be  enounced 
and  hence  how  the  word,  as  whole,  is  to  be  pronounced. 
If  the  pronunciation  is  already  known  by  the  pupil, 
there  is  no  need  of  affixing  to  the  word  any  diacritical 
marks  at  all ;  for  if  the  pronunciation  be  known,  these 
additional  marks  serve  no  use  whatever.  It  is  to  be 
regretted  that  many  teachers  impose  the  whole  compli- 
cated diacritical  system  of  marking  upon  children  when 
they  already  know  the  pronunciation  of  the  words  in 
question.  This  is  making  such  markings  an  end  rather 
than  a  means ;  and  frequently  children  are  thus  harassed 
and  bewildered  by  a  complicated  scheme  that  serves  no 
ulterior  or  useful  purpose.  As  in  everything  else,  a 
system  of  diacritical  markings  should  be  reduced  to  its 
lowest  terms,  and  these  should  be  used  and  required  only 
when  needed.  The  child  should  not  be  so  burdened 
with  tools  that  they  are  in  his  way. 

Spelling  Reform.  —  Enghsh  spelling  certainly  needs 
to  be  reformed.  Our  language  is  extremely  lawless  in 
its  orthography.  There  is  now  on  foot  a  widespread 
movement  both  in  America  and  in  England  in  favor  of 
spelling  reform.  A  few  newspapers  and  magazines  have 
adopted  a  measure  of  reformed  spelling,  and  many  edu- 
cational associations,  both  state  and  national,  have 
declared  themselves  in  favor  of  it.  As  in  all  move- 
ments, there  are  extremes  on  the  subject  of  spelling 
reform.  Men  of  the  older  type  and  time,  and  publish- 
ing houses,  as  a  rule,  are  averse  to  any  changes ;  while 
the  radicals  are  in  favor  of  an  extreme  in  the  other 
direction.     It  is   generally  admitted  that   our   English 


Word  Work:  .'The^  Form.,,^  •.,  a,  ,i;oj 

spelling  is  a  great  stumbling  block  in  the  education  of 
children.  It  is  asserted  with  much  evidence  that  it 
wastes  from  one  to  two  years  of  a  child's  school  life  to 
master  this  complicated,  irregular,  and  merely  conven- 
tional system.  But  men  whose  habits  are  formed  are 
opposed  to  any  change.  It  seems  too  that  people  are 
less  inclined  to  be  progressive  in  small,  non-essential, 
and  conventional  things  than  they  are  in  things  worth 
while.  People  will  fight,  bleed,  and  almost  die  for  the 
conventional  form  of  a  word.  It  certainly  demonstrates 
that  Bacon's  "  idols  of  the  market"  are  idols,  indted. 
It  is  to  be  hoped,  however,  that  the  movement  will 
spread.  All  teachers,  we  think,  should  advocate  a  sane 
reform  in  the  golden  mean ;  and,  while  some  of  us  may 
not  be  able  to  reform  our  own  old  habits  in  this  matter, 
our  reason  tells  us  that  a  simplification  of  English 
spelling  would  be  a  boon  to  the  rising  and  struggling 
generation  of  children,  both  native  and  foreign,  who 
are  wrestling  with  the  senseless  spelling  of  our  language. 


CHAPTER  X 

WORD  WORK:    THE  INWARDNESS  OF  WORDS 

What  is  most  Important.  —  In  the  last  chapter  we 
treated  of  the  outward  aspect  of  words :  their  form, 
the  form  of  presentation,  procedure,  etc. ;  but  the  most 
interesting  phase  of  work  upon  words  remains  to  be  dis- 
cussed. This  will  include  their  meaning,  their  his- 
tory, their  interesting  implications,  their  structure, 
etc.  This  is  really  the  phase  of  word  work  which  is, 
after  all,  the  aim.  All  of  the  work  previously  indicated 
and  discussed  is  merely  the  means  to  this  end,  and  yet 
this  is  the  phase  which  is  usually  forgotten  or  neglected. 
This  is  probably  due  to  the  fact  that  it  is  the  most 
difficult  part  of  that  work.  The  mere  outwardness  of 
words,  their  surface  and  form,  are  comparatively  easy ; 
and  hence  teachers  are  too  often  content  with  this 
alone.  In  the  old-time  method  of  teaching,  this  sur- 
face work,  this  mere  whitewashing,  was  all  that  was 
attended  to.  The  consequence  was,  and  still  is,  where 
such  a  method  is  in  vogue,  that  pupils  never  become 
really  interested  in  one  of  the  most  fascinating  studies 
in  the  whole  curriculum  —  the  study  of  words. 

For,  after  all,  the  aim  is  to  give  to  pupils  a  fine  sense 
of  discrimination  in  regard  to  words :  a  kind  of  *'  feel  " 
which  indicates  that  the  word  in  its  full  and  accurate 
connotation  is  grasped.     There  is  probably  no  better 

I02 


Word  Work:    The  Inwardness  of  Words     103 

indication  of  education  and  culture  than  a  person's 
vocabulary  and  the  discrimination  with  which  he  uses 
words.  Words,  as  we  saw,  are  the  medium  thru 
which  meaning  is  apprehended.  Words  may  be  used 
either  to  conceal  or  to  reveal  thought ;  and  with  different 
people  different  degrees  of  transparency  or  translucency 
of  language  are  evident.  The  purpose  of  words  should 
be,  of  course,  to  reveal  thought  and  not  to  conceal  it. 

And  so,  in  all  school  work  the  teacher  should  have  in 
mind  the  awakening  of  an  intense  interest  in  the  mas- 
tery of  words ;  and  pupils  should  be  enabled  to  express 
themselves  clearly  and  unambiguously  both  thru 
the  tongue  and  the  hand. 

Slang  Words.  —  Many  people  are  quite  poverty- 
stricken  in  their  vocabulary.  It  should  be  the  purpose 
of  the  school  to  start  children  out  and  onward  so  that 
their  vocabulary  will  be  continually  growing.  There 
is  a  class  of  words  known  as  "slang"  which  are  paralyz- 
ing to  the  growth  of  one's  vocabulary.  If  a  person  has 
accustomed  himself  to  the  constant  use  of  slang,  it  will 
be  impossible  for  him  to  express  his  thoughts  in  more 
elegant  and  appropriate  words.  His  ideas  have  been 
associated  with  slang  expressions  so  long  and  frequently, 
that  when  an  idea  comes,  slang  words  rush  in  and  no 
others  are  available.  Consequently,  in  the  presence  of 
educated,  refined,  and  cultivated  people,  the  person 
addicted  to  slang  must  remain  silent  or  else  reveal  his 
slang  habit  by  expressions  which,  for  their  crudity, 
arrest  the  attention  of  all. 

It  is  not  the  intention  to  condemn,  in  toto,  the  use  of 
what  is  sometimes  called  slang.     Many  words  now  in 


I04  Fu7idame7itals  in  Methods 

good  use  had  their  origin  in  sources  similar  to  those  of 
words  now  known  as  slang.  It  is  difficult  to  define 
slang.  Some  one  has  said  that  every  word  in  its  origin 
is  a  poem,  and  slang  words  are  frequently  very  expressive 
and  picturesque  because  they  bring  to  mind  a  very  vivid 
and  illustrating  picture.  But  a  discriminating  choice 
should  be  made  in  the  tolerance  which  we  accord  to 
such  words.  If  their  origin  indicate  immoral  or  debasing 
sources,  they  should  be  excluded,  and  children  should 
be  induced  in  every  way  possible  to  eliminate  them  from 
their  vocabulary.  If  their  origin,  on  the  other  hand,  be 
merely  one  of  picturesqueness  and  vividness,  their  use 
may  be  tolerated. 

Abused  Words.  —  Many  words  in  our  language  are 
much  abused  and  overworked  by  some  people.  The 
words  jine  and  lovely^  for  example,  are  used  upon 
almost  every  occasion  when  other  words  might  be 
used  with  more  propriety  and  discrimination.  The 
word  splendid  is  a  much-abused  and  overworked  word. 
If  we  were  describing  the  Aurora  Borealis,  where  flashes 
of  light  appear  alternately  in  different  directions, 
from  the  horizon  to  the  zenith,  and  where  the  whole 
heavens  take  on  a  variegated  and  luminous  display, 
the  scene  might  truly  be  said  to  be  splendid;  in  other 
places,  where,  in  winter,  they  build  ice  palaces  and 
where,  upon  a  certain  night,  the  fire  king  makes  his 
attack  upon  the  ice  palace  and  the  whole  heavens  are 
illuminated  by  a  veritable  pyrotechnic  display  of  fire- 
works, the  scene  might  be  truly  described  as  splendid; 
but,  if  we  should  speak  of  a  "splendid  dishrag,"  it  would 
be  passing  from  the  sublime  to  the  ridiculous ;  it  would 


Word  Work:    The  Inwardness  of  Words     105 

be  a  use  of  the  word  splendid  which  is  anything  but 
discriminating. 

How  Meanings  are  Learned.  —  The  meanings  of  new 
words  are  gathered  by  the  pupil  in  different  ways : 

In  the  first  place,  the  meaning  of  a  word  may  be  in- 
ferred from  its  context ;  that  is,  from  the  meaning  which 
has  gone  before  and  comes  after.  If  there  is  at  first  a 
blot  in  our  picture  on  account  of  an  unknown  word,  by 
some  reflection  we  may  be  able  to  glean,  gather,  or  guess 
what  the  meaning  must  be  from  the  drift  of  thought  in 
the  discussion. 

In  the  second  place,  the  meaning  of  a  word  may  be 
gathered  by  giving  the  pupil  a  synonym  which  he 
already  knows.  The  synonym  may  not  have  absolutely 
the  same  meaning  but  it  will  let  in  upon  him  a  flood 
of  light.  If  hillow  is  explained  to  a  child  by  giving 
him  the  word  wam^  altho  the  two  are  not  exactly  syn- 
onymous, he  will  have  the  meaning  in  its  substantial 
fullness. 

In  the  third  place,  the  meaning  of  a  word  may 
be  grasped  by  giving  the  pupil  an  antonym;  if  the 
word  deceptive^  for  example,  is  defined  as  not  truthful^ 
the  child  is  at  once  enabled  to  grasp  its  substantial 
meaning. 

In  the  last  place,  the  meaning  may  be  gained  by  logi- 
cal definition.  When  this  method  is  pursued,  the  teacher 
must  be  careful  that  the  pupils  understand  the  definition 
itself.  Frequently  children  learn  definitions  merely  by 
memory  without  having  any  clear  grasp  of  their  meaning. 
Definitions,  consequently,  are  not  sufficient  in  themselves 
to  make  sure  that  a  pupil  has  the  meaning  when  he  gives 


io6  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

them.  He  should  be  required  to  put  the  word  in  a 
sentence  —  to  use  it  correctly  in  more  than  one  relation. 
The  aim  in  all  of  this  work  is  clearness  of  understanding, 
and  if  a  pupil  can  show  in  any  way  that  he  has  the 
actual  meaning,  it  should  be  satisfactory  for  the  purpose 
in  hand.  When  a  pupil  looked  up  the  word  capillary 
and  found  in  the  dictionary  that  it  meant  a  little  vessel, 
and  then  said  that  Columbus  came  to  the  New  World  in 
three  capillaries,  the  need  of  further  questioning  on  the 
part  of  the  teacher  and  of  more  accurate  discrimination 
on  the  part  of  the  pupil  became  evident.  Another 
boy  looked  up  the  word  aperture  and  found  that  it 
meant  an  opening.  As  usual,  children  are  satisfied  with 
mere  words;  and  consequently,  when  he  was  asked 
to  put  the  word  in  a  sentence  he  said,  "  December 
is  the  aperture  of  the  skating  season."  A  man  inquired 
in  regard  to  the  meaning  of  ferment  and  was  told  that 
it  meant  to  work.  A  little  later  he  was  heard  to  remark 
that  he  believed  he  would  *'  go  out  in  the  garden 
and  ferment  a  while"!  These  ludicrous  instances 
might  be  duplicated  by  any  teacher;  but  they  show 
that,  to  secure  clearness  and  fullness  of  meaning,  a 
teacher  should  test  the  pupil  in  various  ways  and 
require  him  to  give  a  clear  account  of  his  knowledge. 
Pupils  should  be  able  to  show  that  they  can  use  in  various 
ways  the  tool  which  they  have  acquired.  The  test  of 
the  pudding  is  always  in  the  eating. 

Word  Revelations.  —  The  study  of  words  should  be 
intensely  interesting.  Many  words  have  an  attractive 
and  indeed  fascinating  history;  they  contain  within 
themselves  wonderful  stories ;   and  any  side  lights  which 


Word  Work:    The  Inwardness  of  Words     107 

the  teacher  in  her  methods  may  be  able  to  cast  upon  a 
word  will  help  to  illuminate  it,  to  illustrate  it,  to  make 
it  interesting.  This,  like  every  other  subject,  will  be 
attractive  to  children,  if  properly  presented.  They 
should  be  led  each  day  into  some  new  corner  of  verbal 
curiosities.  The  word- world  is  a  veritable  museum, 
every  specimen  in  which  is  full  of  literary  and  historic 
interest.  Indeed  it  may  be  truly  said  to  be  a  me- 
nagerie of  live  verbal  species,  each  one  of  which  has  an 
interesting  evolutionary  series  of  changes,  and  many  of 
which  are  genuine  "  sports." 

Words  differ  in  Interest.  —  The  same  kind  of  work 
should  not  be  done  or  required  upon  every  word  pre- 
sented. Some  words  are  of  interest  in  one  way  and 
others  in  another.  It  would  be  tedious  and  monotonous 
to  give  the  etymology  of  every  word.  Some  words  are 
intensely  interesting  on  account  of  their  structure  and 
make-up  and  others  on  account  of  the  tale  which  they 
tell.  The  teacher  should  seize  upon  the  interesting 
aspect  of  a  word  and  let  the  other  aspects  go,  since  it  is 
impossible  to  do  everything. 

One  Sample  of  an  Interesting  Phase.  —  The  following 
is  a  Hst  of  words  that  arrest  our  attention  on  account  of 
their  make-up,  and  because  of  their  internal  implications 
and  suggestions.  This  list  might  be  added  to  from  day 
to  day  as  similar  interesting  examples  occur.  One  of 
the  chief  things  to  be  aimed  at  in  the  teaching  of  words 
is  a  growing  curiosity  on  the  part  of  children  in  regard 
to  them.  If  a  person  forms  a  habit  and  a  desire  of  look- 
ing into  a  word,  he  is  on  the  royal  road  to  mental  growth 
in  this  direction. 


io8  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

don  =  to  do  on. 
doff  =  to  do  off. 
daisy  =  the  day's  eye. 
naught  =  not  aught  —  not  anything, 
curfew  =  couvre  feu  — ■  to  cover  up  the  fire, 
vinegar  =  vin  aigre  —  sour  wine, 
verdict  =  ver  (true)  diet  (saying)  —  a  true  saying, 
privilege  =  private  law. 

Philip  =  a  lover  (phil)  of  the  horse  ('ip). 
frankincense  =  a  free  burnt  offering, 
atone  =  at  one. 
egotist  =  one  for  one's  self  (ego) . 
egoism  =  a  state  in  which  self  is  prominent, 
egotism  =  a  state  in  which  self  is  unduly  prominent, 
ostracize  =  to  cast  out  by  the  shell.    (This  was  the  way  in 
which  Aristides  was  cast  out  of  Athens  —  by  a 
shell  vote.) 
tantalize  =  to  put  into  the  condition  of  Tantalus.   (Have  the 

class  look  up  the  incident.) 
bayonet  =  a  sword  first  made  in  Bayonne. 
laudanum  =  a  thing  to  be  praised ;  hence,  that  which  deadens 
pain, 
enthusiasm  =  a  god  within, 
stentorian  =  after  the  manner  of    Stentor.   (Have  the  class 
look  up  the  incident.) 
sarcasm  =  (literally)  flesh  tearing. 

Meaning  of  Proper  Names.  —  One  of  the  most  inter- 
esting studies  is  that  of  names,  both  surnames  and  given 
names.  Every  name  had  an  appropriate  origin  some- 
where and  some  time,  and  hence  every  person's  surname 
has  had  a  history  originating  in  a  meaning  which  was 
applicable  to  a  forefather.  While  an  extensive  study 
of  names  would  carry  a  teacher  and  her  class  too  far 
afield,   some  investigation  should  be  made  in  regard 


Word  Work:    The  Inwardness  of  Words     109 

to  the  meaning  of  the  names  of  the  pupils  in  the  class. 
This  will  arouse  their  curiosity  to  push  the  inquiry 
further.  Every  exercise  of  this  kind  which  adds  its 
interest  to  words  and  names  should  be  encouraged. 

Word  Structure.  —  Words  are  also  interesting  on 
account  of  their  structure.  There  are  certain  formula- 
tions of  words  where  the  root  or  the  stem  corresponds 
to  the  surname  of  a  person  and  the  prefixes  and  suffixes 
add  the  variations.  In  the  teaching  of  word  work  the 
class  should  be  given  a  list  of  the  most  common  and 
meaningful  prefixes  and  suffixes;  that  is,  a  sufficient 
number  of  these  should  be  given  to  awaken  the  interest 
and  arouse  the  curiosity  of  the  pupils  whenever  they  see 
them.  The  list  of  really  important  prefixes  and  suf- 
fixes is  not  long.  It  would  be  bad  practice  to  attempt  to 
give  all  the  prefixes  and  suffixes  in  the  language,  or  to 
give  the  impression  that  all  prefixes  and  suffixes  are  of 
equal  importance.  Some  of  these  occur  so  seldom 
that  it  is  not  worth  while  to  learn  them  at  all  until  we 
meet  them,  and  others  occur  so  frequently  that  they  are 
important  tools  to  have  with  us  at  all  times. 

Some  Important  Prefixes  and  Suflixes.  —  We  venture, 
therefore,  to  give  a  short  Hst  with  examples,  of  some  im- 
portant prefixes  and  suffixes.  These  may  be  learned  by 
the  pupils  in  a  very  short  time  and  thereafter  will  be  in- 
valuable in  securing  an  insight  into  the  meaning  of  words : 

Prefixes.  — 

ante  =  before ;  e.g.  ante  bellum,  before  the  war. 

anti  =  against ;   e.g.  antipodes,  those  on  the  other  side  of  the 

earth  whose  feet  are  against  ours ;   that  is,  we  are  feet 

to  feet. 


no  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

re     =  back  or  again :  e.g.  recede,  to  go  back  ;  re-read,  to  read 
again. 

Where  it  is  not  known  whether  this  prefix  should 
mean  hack  or  again.,  we  have  to  sense  the  meaning  by 
trial.     This  must  be  done  everywhere  in  language  and 
in  life, 
mis  =  wrong ;  e.g.  misquoted,  wrongly  quoted, 
un    »=  not ;  e.g.  untruthful,  not  truthful, 
dis    =  apart ;  e.g.  dismember,  to  tear  apart. 
pre   =  before ;   e.g.  prefix,  to  put  on  before. 

The  word  precocious  is  interesting  for  it  literally 
means,  "cooked  too  soon." 
pro   =  forth ;  e.g.  propel,  to  drive  forth. 

de     =  down ;   e.g.  descend,  to  go  down ;    depart,  to  part  from. 
Delirious  is  an  interesting  word,  for  it  literally  means, 
"from  one's  furrow,"  or  "out  of  one's  furrow."     The 
modern  and  possibly  slang  expression  for  this  concep- 
tion is,  "off  one's  trolley"  —  in  the  modern  world  the 
street  car  being  responsible  for  the  transfer  from  the 
furrow  to  the  trolley, 
ad,  at,  af,  an,  ac,  as  =  to ;   e.g.  admit,  agree  to ;   attend,  to  tend 
to ;  afiix,  to  fix  to ;  annex,  to  add  to ;  accede,  to  go  to 
another ;  assent,  to  agree  to. 
ab     =  from;  e.g.  abstract,  to  draw  from, 
con,  com,  co  =  with,  together;    e.g.  connect,  to  join  together; 
comply,  to  agree  with;   cooperate,  to  work  together, 
in      «=  into,  upon ;  e.g.  introduce,  to  lead  into ;  insult,  (literally) 
to  jump  upon, 
contra  =  against ;  e.g.  contradict,  to  speak  against, 
extra    =  beyond ;  e.g.  extraordinary,  beyond  the  ordinary. 

Suflixes.  — 

ful    =  full  of ;  e.g.  truthful,  full  of  truth. 

ly     =  in  a  manner,  like ;  e.g.  truly,  in  a  true  manner. 

ing   =  continuing ;  e.g.  reading,  continuing  to  read. 

ness  =  state  or  condition ;  e.g.  sickness,  a  state  of  being  sick. 


Word  Work :    The  Inwardness  of  Words     1 1 1 

er,  or  (added  to  a  verb)  =  one  who ;  e.g.  worker,  one  who  works, 
er,  or  (added  to  an  adjective)  =  more  than ;  e.g.  richer,  more  rich, 
let,  lot,  ling,  kin  =  little ;   e.g.  ballot,  a  httle  ball. 

(People  originally  voted  by  dropping  little 
balls  into  a  box.     This  practice  is  still  in  vogue.) 
brooklet,  a  little  brook; 
lambkin,  a  little  lamb. 

(Many    proper    names    contain    this   suffix: 

Wilkin,  Httle  Will;   Perkin,  little  Peter.) 

ic,  y,  ous,  al  =  of  a  nature,  like ;    e.g.  barbaric,  of  a  barbarous 

nature;  milky,  like  milk;  vitreous,  like  glass; 

emotional,  of  the  nature  of  an  emotion. 

ate,  fy       =  to  make ;  e.g.  emancipate,  to  make  free ;  liquefy,  to 

make  liquid, 
able,  ible  =  capable  of ;  e.g.  dutiable,  capable  of  or  subject   to 

duty ;    edible,  capable  of  being  eaten, 
tion  =  act  of  or  condition ;  e.g.  promotion,  act  or  condition 

of  being  advanced, 
ize,  ise       =  to  make ;    e.g.  rationalize,  to  make  reasonable ;   criti- 
cize, to  find  fault. 

(According  to  the  reformed  spelling   the   "ise" 
is  discontinued  where  the  sound  is  one  of  "z.") 
ish  =  somewhat ;  e.g.  brownish,  somewhat  brown. 

Another  Interesting  Sample.  —  There  is  another  class 
of  words  where  the  interest  seems  to  be  in  the  root  or 
stem,  and  where  this  is  played  upon  by  a  prefix  or  a 
sufhx,  or  where  there  has  been  a  transfer  of  meaning,  by 
analogy,  from  one  situation  to  another  of  a  different 
kind.  This  latter  is  illustrated,  for  example,  in  the 
varied  applications  of  the  Latin  word,  caput.  This 
word  is  taken  into  the  English  and  with  some  slight 
incidental  variations,  owing  to  its  long  and  tortuous 
course  in  history,  becomes  the  mother  of  a  whole  family 
of  words : 


112  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

From  caputs  meaning  the  head: 

1.  capital,  the  head  city. 

2.  capitol,  the  head  building. 

3.  capital  (adjective),  at  the  head,  excellent. 

4.  capital   punishment,   head   or   ultimate   punishment   or 

the  punishment  which,  literally  construed,  means  tak- 
ing off  the  head. 

5.  capital  letter,  head  letter. 

6.  c(h)apter,  head  division. 

7.  captain,  head  of  100  men. 

8.  capitulate,  to  give  the  headings. 

9.  recapitulate,  to  give  the  headings  again. 

10.  capitation  tax,  tax  on  the  head  (poll  tax). 

11.  decapitate,  to  cut  off  the  head. 

12.  capital,  a  man's  possessions. 

It  is  difficult  to  see  how  the  idea  of  head  comes  into  this  situa- 
tion; but  when  it  becomes  known  that  in  the  pastoral  stage  of 
the  race  a  man's  wealth  consisted  of  the  heads  of  sheep  and  cattle 
which  he  owned,  it  becomes  clear ;  consequently,  the  word  capital, 
meaning  wealth,  contains  an  epitome  of  the  history  of  our  race. 

Samples  of  Interesting  Etymology.  — 

From  cide,  meaning  to  kill : 

1.  homicide,  the  kiUing  of  a  human  bemg. 

2.  fratricide,  the  killing  of  a  brother. 

3.  sororicide,  the  killing  of  a  sister. 

4.  patricide,  the  kilhng  of  a  father. 

5.  matricide,  the  killing  of  a  mother. 

6.  infanticide,  the  killing  of  an  infant. 

7.  suicide,  the  killing  of  self. 

8.  regicide,  the  killing  of  a  king. 

9.  uxoricide,  the  killing  of  a  wife. 

10.  germicide,  something  that  kills  germs. 

An  ingenious  advertiser  has  used  the  word  "fyrecide"  as  the 
name  for  a  mixture  or  preparation  that  is  "death  on  fire." 


Word  Work :    The  Inwardness  of  Words     113 

From  graphy,  an  account  or  description : 

1.  geography,  a  description  of  the  earth. 

2.  biography,  a  description  of  a  Hfe. 

3.  ethnography,  a  description  of  the  races. 

4.  anthropography,  a  description  of  mankind. 

5.  physiography,  a  description  of  nature. 

Other  words,  as  they  come  to  the  notice  of  the  pupils,  may  be 
added  to  this  list. 

From  logy,  a  treatise,  or  scientific  discourse : 

1.  geology,  a  treatise  of  the  earth  (applied  to  the  crust). 

2.  biology,  a  treatise  on  life. 

3.  ethnology,  a  treatise  on  the  races. 

4.  anthropology,  a  treatise  on  man. 

5.  physiology,  a  treatise  on  human  nature  in  its  functioning. 

6.  phrenology,  a  treatise  on  the  skull  as  indicative  (now  a 

pseudo  science). 

7.  terminology,  a  treatise  on  terms. 

8.  psychology,  a  treatise  on  the  mind. 

9.  theology,  a  treatise  on  God. 

10.  demonology,  a  treatise  on  demons. 

11.  zoology,  a  treatise  on  animals. 

12.  astrology,  a  treatise  on  the  stars  (now  a  pseudo  science). 

13.  etymology,  a  treatise  on  origins  (limited  to  words). 

14.  neurology,  a  treatise  on  nerves. 

15.  mythology,  a  treatise  on  myths. 

16.  lithology,  a  treatise  on  stones. 

17.  conchology,  a  treatise  on  shells. 

18.  osteology,  a  treatise  on  bones. 

Again,  this  list  may  be  increased  as  other  words 
appear. 

Technical  Terms  in  Word  Work.  —  There  are  certain 
terms  which  sooner  of  later  should  be  learned  by  the 
pupils.     They  are  not  difficult  and  should  be  learned 


114  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

naturally  when  the  subject  presents  itself  or  incidentally 
as  other  words  are  learned.  At  the  proper  time  and 
place  they  might  be  made  the  subject  of  a  recitation, 
and  then  they  could  be  discussed  in  full,  formulated  and 
applied.  For  example,  if  the  word  syllable  be  made  the 
stem  or  root,  we  get  the  following : 

mono-syllable  =  a  word  of  one  syllable, 
dis-syllable  =  a  word  of  two  syllables, 
tri-sy liable  =  a  word  of  three  syllables, 
poly-syllable  =  a  word  of  many  syllables  —  applied  to  words  of 
more  than  three  syllables. 

The  syllables  of  a  word  are  given  names  as  follows : 

ultimate  =  the  last  syllable  of  a  word ; 
penult  =  next  to  the  last  syllable  (pen  =  almost) ; 
ante-penult  =  the    syllable    before    the   penult  —  third   from 
last. 
pre-ante-penult  =  the    syllable   before    the   ante-penult  —  fourth 
from  last. 

Words,  according  to  their  composition,  or  structure, 
are  also  known  as  simple,  derivative,  or  compound.  A 
simple  word  is  one  consisting  merely  of  the  root  or  stem. 
A  derivative  word  is  one  consisting  of  the  root  or  stem 
with  a  prefix  or  suffix  attached.  The  prefix  or  suffix 
gives  the  variation  of  the  idea  implied  in  the  root.  A 
compound  word  is  one  made  up  of  two  or  more  simple 
words.  When  a  compound  word  is  of  somewhat  new 
and  recent  origin  it  contains  a  hyphen.  When  it  is  of 
long  standing  and  well  established  the  hyphen  is  usually 
dropped. 

Lesson  Assignment.  —  The  number  of  words  to  be 
assigned  for  the  next  lesson  in  word  work  will  depend 


Word  Work :    The  Inwardness  of  Words     115 

upon  conditions  and  circumstances,  and  will  vary  ac- 
cording to  the  maturity  and  degree  of  advancement  of 
the  pupils.  It  will  also  vary  according  to  the  possibili- 
ties of  the  words  —  to  their  complexity  and  richness  of 
meaning.  Consequently,  no  definite  number  can  be 
assigned  as  a  proper  one.  It  is  subserviency  to  cut-and- 
dried  rules  that  paralyzes  good  teaching  everywhere. 
Sometimes  five  words,  if  they  are  full  of  richness  and 
variation,  would  be  ample.  At  other  times  ten  or 
fifteen  would  not  be  so  difficult.  It  is  not  the  number 
of  words  that  is  important,  but  the  interest  aroused 
and  the  fruitfulness  of  the  lesson. 

Sources.  —  The  sources  of  word  work  may  be  many 
and  various.  A  spelling  book  might  be  used  at  least  a 
part  of  the  time,  to  advantage.  At  other  times  words 
could  well  be  selected  from  any  and  all  sources  directly 
connected  with  the  fife  of  the  pupils.  Of  course,  the 
use  of  a  spelling  book  minimizes  the  work  of  the  teacher, 
but  if  the  teacher  have  ability  and  time  to  select  the 
words  from  all  other  subjects  which  the  pupils  are  study- 
ing, or  from  other  outside  and  interesting  sources,  it 
would,  we  think,  be  a  better  plan.  A  spelling  book,  it  is 
true,  gives  definiteness  to  the  work  and  the  occasion, 
and  this  means  much.  If  the  same  definiteness  could 
be  secured  when  the  words  are  selected  from  any  and 
all  sources  connected  with  the  pupils'  life  it  would 
certainly  be  a  better  plan.  This,  however,  must  be 
left  to  the  teacher.  No  particular  rules  on  this,  any 
more  than  on  any  other  subject,  can  be  given,  which 
should  be  applied  verbatim  to  the  ever-changing  situa- 
tions of  the  schoolroom.    • 


CHAPTER  XI 

WRITING 

With  Reading  at  First.  —  Writing  is  implied  or  in- 
volved in  the  subject  of  reading  during  the  primary 
grades.  During  the  period  when  writing  is  thus  wrapped 
up  with  reading  and  treated,  in  a  way,  incidentally,  the 
primary  accent,  or  emphasis,  is  placed  upon  the  gleaning 
of  thought  and  the  effective  expression  of  it.  But  during 
this  period  the  subject  of  writing  receives  a  secondary 
accent  and  is  supplementary  to  the  reading  process. 

The  Present  Status.  —  But  as  soon  as  writing  emerges 
and  becomes  a  separate  exercise  the  tendency  is  to  over- 
systematize  it.  The  merely  formal  exercise  of  writing 
seems  then  to  be  made  an  end  in  itself,  and  in  many, 
if  not  in  most  schools,  it  degenerates  into  a  fruitless 
and  formal  routine.  If  we  visit  the  average  school 
and  make  a  careful  examination  of  the  process  and  of 
the  results  of  the  teaching  of  writing,  we  shall  soon  be 
convinced  that  little  if  any  good  is  being  accomplished. 
If  we  examine  the  copy  books,  we  shall  frequently  find 
that  the  last  Hne  on  a  page  is  worse  than  the  first,  and 
that  the  last  pages  of  the  copy  book  are  as  bad,  if  not 
worse,  than  the  first  pages.  This  is  easily  explained  when 
we  remember  that  for  the  child  the  mere  copying  of  the 
line  which  precedes  is  the  end  and  aim  of  his  activity. 
A   result   follows,  similar  to  that  got  from   the   pupil 

ii6 


Writing  1 1 7 

who  has  been  compelled  to  stay  after  school  and  write, 
a'  hundred  times,  a  word  which  he  has  misspelled.  The 
whole  procedure  degenerates  into  a  perfunctory  and 
monotonous  task.  In  writing  the  first  line  on  a  page,  a 
pupil  is  likely  to  do  his  best,  for  he  writes  it  with  much 
attention,  and  the  copy  before  him  is  more  nearly  per- 
fect. When  he  writes  the  second  line  he  is  tempted  to 
copy  what  he  himself  has  written  before,  rather  than 
the  engraved  copy  at  the  head,  and  so  the  process  of 
degeneration  goes  on.  Mere  repetition  in  writing,  as  in 
spelHng  and  in  reading,  if  not  filled  full  of  thought,  feel- 
ing, and  effort,  is  likely  to  become  commonplace  and 
barren  of  results. 

Copy-book  Work.  —  It  is  customary  in  the  grades 
to  devote  a  period  of  about  fifteen  minutes  each  day  to 
the  subject  of  writing  in  copy  books.  The  period  thus 
spent  becomes  a  dull  and  uninteresting  one  to  the  child. 
The  teacher  does  nothing  except  to  criticize  adversely 
either  the  children's  movement  or  their  position  at  the 
desk,  and  consequently  the  pupils  are  always  apprehen- 
sive of  being  adversely  criticized.  They  are  not  deeply 
interested  or  indeed  interested  at  all  and  they  do  not 
feel  that  they  are  doing  anything  worth  while.  With 
the  copy  before  them  the  finger  movement  is  induced 
and  a  slow,  painful  copying  process  is  the  result.  This 
becomes  what  can  more  properly  be  termed  drawing 
than  writing,  for  the  children,  by  this  slow  procedure 
and  with  the  finger  movement,  attempt  to  draw  the 
letters  just  as  these  are  made  in  the  copy  above.  The 
whole  period  becomes  one  of  drudgery  and  the  children 
always  experience  a  feeling  of  relief  when  it  is  over. 


Ii8  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

The  teaching  of  writing  by  means  of  copy  books  has 
been  an  altogether  too  prevalent  practice.  No  one 
can  become  a  good  writer  by  means  of  the  copy  book 
alone.  As  its  name  indicates,  it  is  a  copy  book,  and 
children  merely  imitate  the  copy.  It  puts  the  pupil 
under  constraint,  for  he  has  to  move  slowly  and  along 
certain  grooves ;  it  defeats  the  proper  movement  and 
induces  the  "slow,"  and  merely  ''drawing"  habit. 
Writing  should  be  more  alive  and  expressive  of  what  is 
within  than  drawing.  Real  writing  is  expression,  thru 
the  hand,  of  ideas  and  thoughts  already  in  the  mind, 
the  forms  of  which  are  as  mental  as  the  ideas  themselves. 
It  is  the  artistic  expression  of  these  forms  that  is  in  need 
of  cultivation  and  improvement ;  and  this  can  be  done 
only  by  the  right  kind  of  practice.  A  boy  does  not  learn 
to  catch  or  play  baseball  or  to  skate  by  merely  imitating 
the  detailed  movements  of  some  one  who  is  a  "  copy." 
He  learns  to  catch  and  play  by  ''  getting  into  the  game  " 
and  expressing  over  and  over  again  the  ideas  which  he 
has.  It  is  a  process  from  within  outward.  He  gets 
some  "  pointers,"  it  is  true,  by  watching  others,  but  the 
great  problem  for  him  is  not  a  lack  of  knowing  what  to 
do  but  of  doing  it.  Writing  is  like  all  other  arts;  it 
must  be  learned  by  intelligent  doing.  As  in  reading,  the 
written  forms  are  only  go-betweens,  means,  or  media,  and 
should  become  unconscious  and  rapid  habit. 

Copy  Books  Made  to  Sell.  —  As  a  rule,  copy  books  cost 
about  fifteen  cents,  and  they  contain  less  than  two 
cents'  worth  of  paper.  They  are  simply  made  to  sell 
and  are  not  at  all  essential  to  the  teaching  or  learning 
of  writing  —  indeed,  they  are,  as  we  said,  a  detriment. 


Writing  119 

If  writing  is  a  plain  and  pleasing  expression  of  thought 
in  written  form,  done  with  ease  and  rapidity,  it  is  difficult 
to  see  that  copy  books  are  not  a  real  hindrance  to  the 
whole  process.  If  it  be  said  that  copy  books  furnish  the 
ideal  letters  and  real  forms  which  the  children  are  to 
reproduce,  it  can  be  repHed  that  the  children  have  al- 
ready, in  their  minds,  forms  more  perfect  and  ideal  than 
they  can  possibly  express.  Children  have  been  develop- 
ing these  forms  since  the  first  day  of  their  school  attend- 
ance. Consequently  the  child,  before  he  has  had  any 
systematic  teaching  of  writing,  as  writing,  can  invariably 
tell  which  is  the  best  of  several  letters.  We  all  have  the 
experience  of  being  dissatisfied  with  certain  standard 
forms  in  our  minds.  When  we  see  another  person  make 
a  letter  which  we  consider  better  than  our  own  we  are 
inclined  to  adopt  his  and  to  throw  our  own  away.  This 
is  entirely  legitimate  and  is  the  way  in  which  children 
develop  standard  forms  which  are  being  built  up  in 
their  minds.  Every  pupil  has  in  his  mind  standard 
letters,  or  ideal  forms,  by  means  of  which  he  tests  the 
letters  which  he  sees  or  executes  himself.  If  this  is 
true,  why  should  he  need  another  copy  external  to  him, 
upon  the  page  of  a  copy  book?  This  would  seem  to 
be  a  distraction  rather  than  a  help,  if  real  writing  is 
the  expression  of  what  is  within  the  mind.  Since  he 
has,  then,  upon  his  mental  tablets  the  standard  forms, 
it  is  best  for  him  to  express  these  in  real  writing  rather 
than  to  imitate  in  mere  drawing  a  copy  that  is  before 
him.  It  is  the  monotonous  and  repetitious  expression 
of  copies  that  makes  the  writing  period  one  of  sheer 
drudgery. 


I20  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

Careful  Beginnings.  —  As  in  learning  to  operate  the 
typewriter  or  in  learning  to  play  the  piano,  the  writ- 
ing habit  should  be  carefully  begun  and  systematically 
and  interestingly  induced.  It  should  follow  the  laws 
of  habit,  as  does  every  other  art.  The  habit  of  writing 
should  be  ingrained  in  the  nervous  system  so  that  the 
movement  will  naturally  follow.  This  movement  in 
writing  should  be  induced  in  a  proper  position,  and  this 
habit  should  be  cultivated  slowly  but  surely.  But  while 
the  habit  is  being  cultivated  the  child  should  be  writing 
something  that  is  worth  while.  In  learning  to  write, 
children  should  be  transcribing  something  that  is  of 
value.  The  transcribing  of  beautiful  gems  of  poetry 
and  of  prose  from  the  blackboard  into  the  notebooks 
neatly  kept  for  that  purpose,  was  suggested  in  the  chapter 
on  Reading.  The  ingenious  teacher  will  always  find 
subject-matter  to  work  upon. 

Motive.  —  In  the  old,  copy-book  method  which  we 
have  described  there  is  no  motive  to  induce  growth 
toward  better  writing.  It  frequently  happens  that  chil- 
dren in  the  eighth  grade  do  not  write  any  better  than  chil- 
dren in  the  fourth,  altho  they  have  been  writing  in  this 
perfunctory  way  for  several  years.  Something  must 
surely  be  wrong,  and  there  is  here  a  real  problem  for  in- 
vestigation by  every  teacher.  If  there  is  no  fruit  from 
a  certain  method,  it  should,  like  the  tree  spoken  of  in 
Holy  Writ,  be  cut  down  and  destroyed.  It  would  be 
safe  to  wager  that,  if  a  boy  who  had  been  writing  for  three 
or  four  years  and  had  made  no  progress,  were  told  that  if 
he  should  become  a  reasonably  good  writer  in  three 
months  he  would  be  taken  into  a  bank  and  given  a  good 


Writing  121 

position,  he  would  attain  the  desired  proficiency  in  this 
art.  Here  there  would  be  an  evident  motive,  and  it 
would  be  found  that  "  where  there  is  a  will  there  is  a 
way." 

But  of  course  such  a  motive  can  not  be  given  to  every 
child  in  school.  Some  motive,  however,  must  be  found  if 
there  is  to  be  improvement.  If  a  person  learning  to  skate 
should  find  that  he  could  not  do  so  well  at  the  end  of  an 
hour  as  when  he  began,  and  could  not  skate  so  well  the 
second  or  third  day  as  he  did  the  first,  the  probabihty 
is  that  the  skates  would  go  into  a  corner  or  into  the  ditch 
by  the  highway.  Where  a  person  does  not  improve  in 
any  art  which  he  is  attempting  to  learn,  he  ceases  trying. 
Improvement  which  will  satisfy  the  mind  is  probably  the 
greatest  motive  in  the  minds  of  the  children  in  learning 
to  write.  It  is,  we  grant,  difficult  to  plant  such  a  motive, 
for  it  is  the  artistic  motive ;  and  real  art  is  difficult  for 
children  of  that  age.  But  there  can  be  simple  art  —  art 
in  its  elements;  and  it  is  this  motive  of  improvement 
that  the  teacher  must  avail  herself  of  to  secure  interest 
and  progress.  She  must  inspire  children  to  write  better 
and  better  as  the  days  and  weeks  go  by,  or  she  and  her 
pupils  will  fail  to  solve  the  problem  of  writing. 

An  Artistic  Writer.  —  When  the  author  was  a  boy  he 
had  a  teacher  who  was  an  artist  at  the  pen ;  and  while 
we  were  out  playing  at  recesses  and  noons  he  would 
sit  behind  his  desk  with  a  good  supply  of  plain 
paper,  and  there  he  would  practice  and  write  to  his 
heart's  content.  His  head  and  his  whole  body  would 
move  back  and  forth  in  harmony  with  his  arm.  He 
evidently   felt   the    thrill    of    success    thru    his    whole 


122  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

nervous  and  muscular  systems.  Writing,  to  be  real 
writing,  must  be  accompanied  sooner  or  later  by  this 
nervous  and  muscular  response:  there  must  be  the 
physical  thrill  and  mental  realization  that  we  are  suc- 
ceeding. 

The  Teacher's  Part.  ^-  The  encouraging  approbation 
of  the  teacher  will  do  much  to  keep  the  children  on  the 
road  to  success.  A  word  of  deserved  praise  should  not 
be  withheld.  While  the  teacher  should  not  be  given 
to  flattery  or  to  indiscriminate  commendation,  neither 
should  she  be  one  of  those  who  never  speak  the  word 
of  encouragement,  or  what  is  still  worse,  who  never 
comment  on  a  pupil's  work  except  in  terms  of  fault- 
finding. The  encouraging  word  often  works  wonders. 
The  teacher  who  knows  children  will  avail  himself  of 
every  legitimate  motive  that  can  play  upon  the  human 
mind  and  heart  to  bring  about  the  desired  result. 

Aims.  —  There  are  certain  aims  to  be  accomplished 
in  this  whole  process  and  procedure  of  teaching  chil- 
dren the  writing  art:  in  the  first  place,  writing,  to  be 
good,  must  be  legible;  that  is,  all  of  the  letters  must 
be  capable  of  being  recognized  instantly.  No  letter 
should  be,  so  to  speak,  ambiguous.  Consequently,  chil- 
dren should  be  taught  the  proper  forms,  the  proper 
mental  pictures,  of  all  the  letters.  If  only  one  good  form 
of  a  letter  could  be  kept  before  the  child's  mind  until 
he  had  acquired  the  art  and  the  habit  of  executing  it, 
all  would  be  well ;  but  the  trouble  is,  that  there  has  been 
a  cross  fire  of  forms  and  of  habits,  so  that  in  practice 
the  nervous  and  muscular  impulse  is  inclined  to  go 
outward  in  a  dozen  different  ways* 


Writing  1 23 

When  the  correct  form  or  mental  picture  has  been 
definitely  engraved  upon  the  mental  tablets  of  the 
children,  these  letters  must  be  combined  in  such  a 
way  that  the  words  and  the  lines  will  present  as  a 
whole  a  neat  and  symmetrical  appearance.  It  is  this 
which  makes  some  people's  writing  repulsive  and  the 
writing  of  others  artistic  and  attractive. 


7  T 

Look  at  this  picture,  and  then  at  this. 

Rapidity  also  is  an  aim  to  be  attained  in  the  teaching 
of  writing.  Some  persons  can  do  in  one  hour  what  it 
takes  others  two  hours  to  accompKsh ;  the  consequence 
is  that  the  rapid  worker  is  always  in  demand  and  will 
retain  a  position  where  the  slow  worker  will  fail.  So 
it  is  in  writing :  a  person  who  turns  out  a  product  in 
writing  that  is  legible  and  neat,  and  that  has  been 
secured  rapidly,  attains  the  desired  end. 

Position  and  movement  are  also  important.  If  a 
person  were  to  write  only  for  a  few  minutes,  it  would 
make  but  Httle  difference  whether  he  had  done  the 
work  in  any  certain  position  or  with  any  particular 
movement;  but  if  a  person  were  to  write  continually 
for  hours,  and  if  writing  is  to  become,  in  any  sense,  his 
vocation,  the  position  and  movement  are  very  impor- 
tant, indeed.     The  habit  of  writing  in  a  correct  posi- 


124  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

tion  will,  in  the  long  run,  save  energy  and  enable  a  per- 
son to  write  for  a  greater  length  of  time  than  he  other- 
wise could.  The  movement,  too,  is  important  in  this 
respect.  It  would  be  impossible  for  a  person  to  write 
for  hours  and  days  with  the  finger  movement  alone ; 
he  would  become  subject  to  what  is  called  "  writer's 
paralysis."  Consequently,  position  and  movement  are 
for  the  purpose  of  physical  ease  and  endurance.  This 
is  well  illustrated  in  learning  to  operate  a  typewriter. 
When  one  is  learning  he  can  undoubtedly  secure  a  greater 
speed  by  using  one  finger  only ;  but  while  he  would  save 
time  at  the  beginning  he  would  lose  time  all  the  rest 
of  his  life.  The  same  is  true  of  writing:  a  correct 
position  and  a  correct  movement  are  essential,  in  order 
to  save  time  and  energy  thru  the  years  to  follow. 

Writing  a  Means,  not  an  End.  —  In  attempting  to 
learn  from  a  copy  book  and  by  mere  writing  exercises, 
as  we  see  them  everywhere  in  school  life,  the  writing 
seems  to  be  merely  for  the  sake  of  writing ;  this,  at  least, 
is  the  impression  that  the  children  get.  For  the  real 
artist  with  the  pen  this  might  be  an  end  in  itself,  but 
for  children  and  for  ordinary  people,  writing  is  a  means 
and  not  an  end.  If  mere  writing  is  made  the  end,  it 
becomes  drudgery.  In  manual  training,  the  making 
and  fitting  joints,  by  the  day  and  week,  merely  for 
the  sake  of  making  and  fitting  joints,  is  deadening; 
and  in  instrumental  music  the  practicing  of  scales  over 
and  over  again  without  ever  being  allowed  to  play  a 
tune  is  discouraging.  The  processes  become  monoto- 
nous and  repellent.  The  boy  wishes  to  be  making  some- 
thing at  the  bench,  and  the  girl  to  be  playing  something 


Writing  125 

at  the  piano.  So  it  is  in  writing:  if  children  were 
given  something  worth  writing  and  told  that  it  would 
be  necessary,  or  at  least  most  desirable,  to  have  this 
subject-matter  written  up  in  neat  and  legible  form,  they 
would  have  something  worth  while  to  work  for  —  some 
end  in  view.  There  would  then  be  some  fruitage  from 
the  process;  but  where  there  is  no  fruit,  as  in  every 
other  case,  the  process  of  writing  becomes  monotonous 
and  repellent. 

Systems  of  Writing.  —  Too  much  stress  has  been  laid 
upon  the  various  systems  of  writing.  We  have  had  many 
of  them,  to  the  confusion  of  the  children  and  the  teach- 
ers in  our  schools.  As  in  the  teaching  of  reading,  some 
small  phase  or  issue  in  the  whole  process  is  often  seized 
upon  by  some  one  highly  susceptible  to  one  idea,  who 
wishes  to  exploit  himself  and  his  work,  and  so  he  puts 
forth  what  is  called  a  "  new  system."  From  a  psycho- 
logical point  of  view  there  is  no  new  continent  to  be  dis- 
covered in  habit  formation,  and  consequently  none  in 
the  teaching  of  writing.  We  have  faddists  without  num- 
ber in  the  pedagogical  field,  and  we  have  likewise  had 
them  in  the  teaching  of  writing.  The  question  of  slant, 
even,  has  been  made  the  basis  of  systems  of  writing. 
Too  much,  altogether,  has  been  made  of  mere  method  or 
rather  of  devices,  misnamed  methods.  A  part  has  been 
taken  for  the  whole ;  mountains  have  been  made  out  of 
molehills ;  and  pupils  and  teachers  have  been  exploited 
by  enterprising  adventurers  for  their  own  enrichment. 

Analysis  of  Letters.  —  The  analysis  of  letters  into 
their  so-called  '*  principles  "  is  a  delusion  and  a  snare. 
This   is    "  ultimate   analysis "    with   a   vengeance.     It 


126  '  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

makes  pupils  so  self-conscious  and  so  conscious  of  details 
that  it  is  death  to  the  writing  process.  It  is  similar  to 
the  analyzing  of  our  own  movements  in  walking,  in  order 
to  learn  how  to  walk,  or  of  our  own  movements  in  eating, 
in  order  to  learn  how  to  eat.  A  few  simple  observations 
on  the  relative  heights  or  sizes  of  letters  is  all  that  is 
needed.  A  methodology  of  the  minute  details  in  the 
procedure  of  most  arts  too  frequently  results  in  what 
might  be  termed  the  hysterics  of  the  problem.  Writing 
is  simply  an  art  that  has  its  roots  in  observation,  imita- 
tion, and  in  habit  rightly  begun  and  directed. 

Slants.  —  The  slant  in  writing  is  quite  immaterial. 
If  a  person  has  acquired,  by  habit,  a  proper  position 
and  a  proper  movement,  and  if  he  expresses  his  writing 
in  legible  and  symmetrical  form  and  with  reasonable 
rapidity,  the  slant  is  a  mere  incident.  Every  person 
should  be  allowed,  under  some  restriction  in  the  interest 
of  later  efficiency,  whatever  slant  suits  him  best.  Our 
hands  are  not  at  all  made  alike  and  it  makes  little  differ- 
ence whether  the  slant  is  one  of  fifty-two  degrees,  or 
twenty-five  degrees,  or  vertical.  The  writer  once  knew 
a  young  man  employed  in  a  railroad  office,  who  said 
that  when  he  grew  tired  writing  in  one  slant  he  fell  into 
the  habit,  in  order  to  rest  himself,  of  pulling  his  pen 
instead  of  pushing  it;  and  he  could  write  a  backhand 
that  was  a  delight  to  see.  While  we  should  not  recom- 
mend, for  various  reasons,  the  teaching  of  backhand, 
it  is  quite  immaterial  what  individual  slant  a  person 
practices,  provided  the  great  aims  of  writing,  which  we 
have  enumerated,  are  attained.  The  chief  trouble  with 
the  backhand  is  that  letters  become  ambiguous. 


Writing  127 

The  Children  Suffer.  -  Children  everywhere  have 
been  subjected  to  these  different  systems  of  writing. 
The  consequence  is  that  they  have  had  some  partially 
formed  habits  broken  up  and  destroyed  by  other  habits 
induced  later.  They  thus  become  the  prey  of  different 
and  conflicting  habits.  This,  of  course,  is  ruinous  to 
the  rapid  and  accurate  expression  of  our  mental  pictures 
in  any  stable  form.  These  pictures  have  been  overlaid 
by  others  or  broken  up  and  blurred :  the  picture  forms 
have  mixed  and  mingled.  It  would  be  better  to  allow 
each  individual  child  to  produce  or  to  express,  in  his 
own  individuality,  the  forms  which  he  has  gathered  from 
all  possible  sources,  and  improved  by  comparison  from 
day  to  day  in  school,  provided  his  writing  be  legible, 
symmetrical,  and  reasonably  rapid,  and  executed  in  a 
fairly  good  position  and  movement.  Sooner  or  later 
he  will,  in  any  event,  form  his  own  system,  regardless 
of  those  that  have  been  taught  him.  It  would  be  much 
better  to  allow  him  to  become  habituated  in  a  definite 
way  to  his  own  methods  and  his  own  forms.  There 
should  be  room  for  freedom,  for  there  are  infinite  varia- 
tions of  excellent  forms  of  writing. 

Much  Note  Taking  and  Haste.  —  Too  much  note 
taking  in  schools  and  colleges  has  been  responsible  for 
spoiHng  the  handwriting  of  many.  Students  are  com- 
pelled under  stress  and  strain  to  follow  a  lecturer,  and  so 
the  habit  of  partial  expression  is  formed.  Too  much 
rapidity  compels  slovenliness  and  inaccuracy,  for  in 
such  cases  the  hand  can  not  follow  as  fast  as  the  mind 
proceeds.  Haste  on  the  part  of  teachers  and  pupils 
is  responsible  for  much  poor  writing.     The  rapid  worker 


128  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

is  likely  to  become  a  poor  writer,  for  his  mind  travels 
faster  than  his  hand  can  follow.  This  induces  various 
kinds  of  short-cut  movements  which,  expressed  in 
letters,  produce  an  illegible  hand.  If  elementary  teachers 
would  practice  what  they  preach,  they  should  put  work 
on  the  blackboard  in  such  form  as  to  excite  the  admira- 
tion of  the  pupils.  Beautiful  blackboard  work  is  not 
time  lost :  haste  makes  waste. 

In  Adolescence.  —  The  period  of  adolescence  is  one  of 
disturbances  in  writing,  as  it  is  in  mind  and  body  gen- 
erally. Children  who  have  become  fairly  good  writers 
prior  to  the  age  of  twelve  to  fourteen,  frequently  become 
poor  writers  all  at  once,  to  the  great  concern  of  parents 
and  teachers.  Many  boys  and  girls  have  to  re-learn 
in  part  the  writing  art  from  this  period  on.  The  nervous 
and  muscular  systems,  as  well  as  the  mind,  undergo 
somewhat  of  a  revolution,  and  this  is  manifest  in  a 
person's  expression  in  writing.  Too  much  anxiety 
should  not  be  felt  at  this  occurrence;  but  it  requires 
careful  and  sympathetic  teaching  to  tide  over  the  dis- 
turbing time.  The  new  habits,  or  rather  the  old  habits 
which  have  been  somewhat  broken  up,  can  be  induced 
much  more  rapidly  than  at  first  formed. 

Can  a  Poor  Writer  Teach  Writing?  —  In  order  to  be  a 
successful  teacher  of  writing  one  should  be  able  to  write 
fairly  well  himself.  It  is  often  claimed  that  a  person 
can  teach  what  he  does  not  know  or  can  not  do,  for 
teaching  is  only  causing  or  inducing  another  to  learn. 
It  is  true  that  a  teacher  sometimes  does  a  thing  so  well 
that  pupils  become  discouraged  and  give  up  attempting 
to  do  it  at  all ;  and  so  it  frequently  happens  that  one  who 


Writing  129 

does  not  know  so  much  or  can  not  do  so  well  as  another 
can,  by  a  kind  of  rivalry,  induce  other  people  to  put  forth 
greater  efforts.  But  probably  the  truth  will  be  found 
here  as  elsewhere  in  a  golden  mean.  It  is  undoubtedly 
true  that  a  teacher  who  can  step  to  a  board  and  illustrate 
fairly  well  what  is  in  his  mind  can  best  induce  others  to 
do  likewise.  Imitation  is  a  power  in  writing  as  it  is  every- 
where else.  Children  even  imitate  the  voice  of  a  teacher. 
Voice  brings  forth  voice  after  its  kind.  The  writer  once 
knew  a  primary  teacher  whose  voice  was  keyed  to  a  high 
pitch  all  day  long,  and  inside  of  two  weeks  all  of  the 
little  children  spoke  in  the  same  high-keyed  voice. 
Similarly,  the  teacher  who  writes  well,  either  upon  the 
blackboard  or  upon  paper,  can  best  elicit  a  similar  ac- 
tivity and  a  like  result  in  his  pupils. 


CHAPTER  XII 

LANGUAGE  WORK:    ELEMENTARY 

The  Home.  —  The  home,  or  the  nursery,  is  the  chief 
agency  in  the  teaching  of  language.  Habits  of  expres- 
sion formed  in  childhood  are  likely  to  remain  with  us 
thru  hfe.  The  influences  of  our  childhood  and  youth 
are  always  potent  factors  in  estabhshing  habits  of 
expression.  It  is  on  this  account  that  slang  words  and 
crude  colloquial  expressions  become  abiding  possessions. 
They  have  been  so  often  and  so  long  welcomed  under  our 
roof  that  they  refuse  to  leave,  and  then  we  are  no  longer 
masters  in  our  own  houses.  Fortunate,  indeed,  from 
a  linguistic  as  well  as  from  other  points  of  view, 
is  the  child  who  has  been  brought  up  in  a  home  where 
good  language  is  used;  and  extremely  unfortunate  is 
the  child  who  has  been  born  into  and  brought  up  in  a 
home  where  the  language  is  abused  and  mutilated. 
Such  a  child  then  has  on  hand  the  fight  of  his  life  thru 
all  his  future  years.  He  may  later  inherit  his  millions 
but  his  language  will  reveal  his  culture.  It  is  this  situa- 
tion which  gives  rise  to  the  contrast  between  persons 
of  real  education  and  culture  and  those  known  as  the 
nouveaux  riches. 

The  SchooL  —  The  school,  from  a  language  point  of 
view,  is  an  agency  secondary  only  to  the  home  and 
companions.    Where   the   linguistic   habits   established 

130 


Language   Work:    Elementary  131 

in  childhood  are  of  a  detrimental  character  it  is  extremely 
difficult  for  a  school  to  counteract  them  and  do  its  work 
well.  The  school  takes  hold  of  the  child  after  his  lan- 
guage habits  have  become  quite  firmly  established,  and 
consequently  the  school  or  even  the  college  should  not 
be  blamed  entirely  for  its  failure  to  turn  out  graduates 
who  use  the  language  with  accuracy  and  facility.  The 
school  can  not  do  everything.  It  can,  however,  do  much 
in  the  way  of  teaching  not  only  a  knowledge  of  language 
but  the  art  of  expression. 

United  with  Other  Subjects.  —  Language  work  is,  Hke 
word  work  and  writing,  wrapped  up  with  reading  during 
the  primary  period.  In  fact,  reading,  spelling,  and 
writing  are  only  parts  of  language  work  proper;  for 
the  expression  of  any  subject  is  essentially  language 
work.  Reading  must  have  a  proper  form;  spelling  is 
merely  getting  the  proper  form  of  symbols  which  denote 
ideas ;  writing  must  have,  as  we  saw,  the  correct  form  in 
order  to  be  good  writing ;  number  work  must  also  have 
its  correct  form  in  all  operations  and  problems.  Every 
subject  of  study,  in  fact,  has  an  appropriate  content 
and  a  proper  form  ;  and  this  form  is  essentially  language 
work.  Consequently,  language  is  connected  with  every 
subject  studied  and  should  receive  its  due  attention  in 
every  recitation  period  during  the  day.  The  form  is 
secondary  only  to  the  content.  No  lesson  or  recitation 
should  be  accepted  as  satisfactory  by  the  teacher  unless 
it  is  delivered  in  proper  form  by  the  pupil. 

No  Separate  Period.  —  It  is  difficult  to  see,  from  a 
logical  and  psychological  point  of  view,  why  there  should 
be  a  separate  period  for  language  study  as  such.     The 


132  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

language,  or  the  form,  is  always  a  means  to  the  end. 
The  end  is  the  correct  thinking  of  the  subject-matter. 
The  language  is  the  means  of  expressing  or  presenting 
this  matter.  Consequently,  in  every  subject  of  study, 
attention  to  language  should  be  a  close  second  to  the 
content  itself.  If  there  be  a  separate  period  for  lan- 
guage study  as  such,  it  is  likely  to  become  so  formal 
that  it  will  lack  content,  and  hence  grow  uninteresting, 
perfunctory,  and  monotonous.  There  would  seem  to 
be  a  sufficient  number  of  occasions  to  teach  correct 
language  in  connection  with  other  subjects.  Most 
subjects  lend  themselves  admirably  to  both  oral  and 
written  recitation. 

Oral  and  Written  Speech.  —  In  fact,  teachers  should 
see  to  it  that  these  two  habits  of  oral  and  written  ex- 
pression should  be  sedulously  cultivated.  Neither  one 
should  be  neglected,  tho  there  is  a  strong  tendency 
always  to  move  along  the  line  of  least  resistance.  When 
this  happens,  pupils  form  one  habit  only,  and*  are  entirely 
unable  to  express  themselves  in  the  other  direction. 
There  are  some  people  who  can  speak  very  fluently 
but  who  could  not  be  driven  to  write  anything.  They 
have  formed  the  talking  habit  and  not  the  writing 
habit.  They  have  been  accustomed  to  let  their  thoughts 
flow  out  over  the  nervous  pathway  leading  to  the  vocal 
organs ;  while  no  way  for  the  expression  of  thought  by 
the  hand  has  ever  been  opened  up.  On  the  contrary, 
there  are  others  who  have  formed  the  habit  of  writing, 
and  who  can  not,  under  any  circumstances,  express 
themselves  orally,  on  their  feet,  before  a  public  audience. 
Many  preachers  and  public  orators  fall  into  the  habit 


Laitguage   Work:    Elementary  133 

of  oral  speech  and  never  put  anything  down  in  black 
and  white.  On  the  other  hand,  Thomas  Jefferson,  one  of 
the  greatest  writers  of  his  day,  could,  under  no  circum- 
stances, give  an  oral  address.  Both  of  these  habits 
should  be  cultivated  and  ingrained  in  pupils'  lives 
during  the  school  age.  Bacon  said  that  "  reading 
maketh  a  full  man ;  writing,  an  exact  man ;  conference, 
a  ready  man."  By  conference  he  meant  oral  discussion. 
There  is  nothing  that  induces  accuracy  of  thought  so 
much  as  being  compelled  to  express  ourselves  in  black 
and  white  and  thus  be  compelled  to  meet  our  embodied 
thoughts  face  to  face.  Those  who  speak  much  and 
never  write  are  Ukely  to  become  eloquently  platitudinous 
or  platitudinously  eloquent,  but  not  exact. 

A  Written  Recitation.  —  The  writer  once  had  the 
experience  of  teaching  a  class  in  United  States  history 
in  the  eighth  grade.  At  the  first  recitation  period, 
after  a  definite  lesson  had  been  assigned,  he  gave  each 
pupil  a  topic  which  had  been  discussed  in  the  text,  and 
asked  him  to  pass  to  the  blackboard  and  to  write  all 
he  could  upon  the  topic  assigned  him.  The  total  black- 
board space  was  divided  among  the  class,  each  taking 
about  four  feet  in  width.  The  members  of  the  class 
looked  somewhat  amazed  and  then  glanced  at  each 
other,  wondering  what  to  do.  Two  or  three  gave  up 
altogether  and  went  to  their  seats.  Two  or  three  more 
wrote  a  few  straggling,  almost  meaningless  sentences; 
others  could  express  themselves  only  to  a  small  extent. 
One  or  two  did  fairly  well,  covering  about  a  fourth  or 
a  third  of  the  space  assigned  them.  The  writer  came 
to  the  conclusion  at  once  that  the  class  needed  to  form 


134  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

the  habit  of  written  expression,  and  hence  continued 
the  plan  of  written  recitation  for  some  time.  Each 
day  showed  a  marked  improvement,  and  at  the  end  of 
two  weeks  our  blackboard  space  was  not  sufficient. 

Growth  of  Compositional  Power.  —  The  last  para- 
graph illustrates  how  the  compositional  power  of  a  child 
will  grow ;  like  all  habits  it  is  capable  of  rapid  develop- 
ment. This  is  one  of  the  chief  purposes  of  language 
work :  to  induce  children  to  express  themselves  with 
reasonable  accuracy  and  fluency,  either  in  speech  or  in 
writing.  The  pow6r  of  composition  is  very  limited  at 
first  but  may  grow  rapidly,  day  by  day.  To  a  little 
child  one  or  two  small  sentences  is  a  story ;  but  as  more 
thoughts  come  to  him  and  as  he  expresses  these  additional 
thoughts,  his  story  grows  in  length.  The  habit  of  writing 
may  later  become  a  pleasure.  It  is  said  that  in  one  in- 
stance, under  pressure  of  his  publisher,  Marion  Craw- 
ford wrote  seven  thousand  words  a  day  for  six  consecutive 
days.  Herbert  Spencer  averaged  five  hundred  words  a 
day  during  his  writing  period.  The  habit  of  writing,  or 
composing,  tends  to  grow  into  such  a  liking,  or  desire,  for 
it  that  writers,  on  a  vacation,  begin  to  feel  an  inward 
impulsion,  a  kind  of  "  hankering  "  to  express  what  is 
gathering  and  taking  form  in  their  minds.  They  feel  as 
tho  there  is  something  in  their  system  which  they 
must  render  outer ^  or  express.  If  pupils  can  be  induced 
to  form  and  to  travel  the  habitual  pathways  of  oral  and 
written  expression  until  they  begin  to  Hke  the  feel  of  it, 
the  school  has  won  out  in  its  aim  —  for  this  is  the  highest 
aim  of  language  work.  This,  however,  is  the  promised 
land  into  which  few  teachers  lead  their  pupils.     Both  too 


Language   Work:    Elementary  135 

frequently  become  lost  in  the  underbrush  and  swamps  of 
miasmatic  rules  and  details  which  lie  between. 

The  Silent  Pupil.  —  Sometimes  teachers  have  in  their 
schools  the  self-conscious,  silent,  bashful  pupil.  It  seems 
almost  impossible  to  eUcit  from  him  any  expression,  either 
oral  or  written.  Such  a  pupil  should  be  treated  kindly 
and  not  severely.  His  power  of  expression  should  be 
slowly  and  carefully  cultivated  and  elicited,  for  it  can 
not  be  forced.  A  word  of  commendation  should  be  given 
upon  the  slightest  effort  on  his  part.  The  trouble  is  not 
with  his  will  but  with  his  stage  in  life,  his  nervous  system, 
his  old  habits.  Habits,  of  expression,  however,  will  grow 
under  proper  encouragement  and  will  soon  come  to  flower 
and  fruit.  The  teacher  in  such  cases  should  understand 
the  nature  of  the  child  and  the  proper  mode  of  encourage- 
ment and  treatment. 

Not  too  much  Interference.  —  Language,  as  we  said, 
is  the  form  of  every  subject  taught  by  the  teacher  or 
presented  in  recitation  by  the  pupil.  It  must,  conse- 
quently, be  taught  in  connection  with  every  subject; 
but  since  the  content  in  each  subject  is  the  primary  aim, 
too  much  stress  should  not  be  placed  upon  the  form  while 
the  children  are  wrestling  with  the  thought  and  doing 
their  best  to  present  it.  If  too  many  adverse  corrections 
and  criticisms  are  passed  upon  the  form,  it  becomes  a  dis- 
turbing element  and  the  child  becomes  fearful  and  diffi- 
dent. The  pupils  should  be  allowed  free  rein  to  dehver 
the  message  in  as  good  form  as  possible.  Then,  if  there 
are  mistakes,  either  oral  or  written,  kindly  attention 
should  be  called  to  them  and  suggestions  for  their  cor- 
rection fittingly  impressed.    These  corrections  should 


136  Fu7idafne7itals  in  Methods 

always  be  given  in  an  encouraging  and  eliciting  spirit 
rather  than  in  a  spirit  of  repression  and  faultfinding. 
Education  everywhere  and  in  every  subject  prospers 
under  encouragement  only  and  is  always  paralyzed  by 
adverse  criticism. 

The  Best  only,  Acceptable.  —  In  every  subject  which 
the  pupils  are  studying  they  should  be  induced  to  offer 
their  best  only.  It  frequently  happens  that  pupils  are 
allowed  to  hand  in  to  their  teacher  a  product  which  is  in 
very  poor  form  and  which  gives  evidence  of  very  careless 
preparation  and  of  slovenly  habits.  Pupils  should  be 
taught  that  if  anything  can  be  corrected  by  themselves 
such  corrections  should  be  made  before  the  matter  is 
handed  in.  It  is  neither  poUte  nor  moral  for  a  pupil  to 
deliver  a  product  which  is  a  disgrace  to  him.  But  the 
good  teacher  will  see  to  it  that  a  pupil's  best  efforts  are 
induced  or  eUcited  by  suggestion,  rather  than  compelled 
thru  fear  or  scolding.  So  long  as  pupils  hand  in  written 
recitations  that  are  not  their  best  they  are  not  being 
truly  educated.  In  all  such  situations  it  would  be  better 
to  require  pupils  to  do  one  half  as  much  and  to  do  it  well 
and  to  the  best  of  their  ability,  than  to  require  double 
the  amount  and  then  accept  it  "  half-baked."  Quality 
is  a  greater  factor  than  quantity  in  education. 

The  Inductive  Procedure.  —  Oral  language  is  learned 
in  childhood  by  observation  and  imitation,  in  an  induc- 
tive rather  than  in  a  deductive  manner.  Language  as 
taught  and  learned  in  school  should  follow  the  same  order. 
Rules  are  formulated  later  and  express  similarities, 
observed  by  mature  minds ;  but  children  do  not  learn 
correct  language  either  in  the  home  or  in  the  school  by 


Language    Work:    Elementary  137 

rule;  they  learn  it  thru  individual  instances  and 
thru  using  the  language  itself  as  they  hear  it  or  see 
it  used  by  others.  We  all  learn  to  speak  by  speaking 
and  to  write  by  writing,  to  a  great  extent.  Teaching 
language  work  to  children  by  the  use  of  rules  is  inverting 
the  proper  method;  it  is  beginning  at  the  point  which 
the  mature  and  adult  mind  has  reached  and  working 
backward.  No  one  has  ever  learned  language  of  any 
kind  by  rule.  Rules  come  last  and  are  the  product  of 
study  and  reflection  by  those  who  have  arrived  at  the 
end  of  the  road.  Language  in  all  its  phases  should  be 
taught  to  children  where  the  children  are.  The  processes 
of  language  teaching  should  follow  the  natural  order  in 
which  language  was  at  first  learned.  As  soon  as  children 
see  similarities  in  a  multitude  of  instances,  they  are  able 
then  to  appreciate  and  realize  the  rule,  but  not  until 
then.  The  rule  is  of  use  scientifically,  or  theoretically, 
but  not  practically. 

The  Criterion  of  Good  Language.  —  The  standard,  or 
criterion,  of  correct  EngHsh  does  not  depend  upon  rules 
but  upon  the  usage  of  the  best  writers  and  speakers.  It 
is  not  the  dictum  of  the  grammar  or  the  dictionary  which 
decides  what  is  correct  or  incorrect.  These  merely  re- 
cord what  authorities  assert  to  be  the  best  usage.  Con- 
sequently, in  the  teaching  of  language  the  ultimate 
criterion  is  good  usage.  The  reason  that  should  be  given 
to  children  as  to  why  certain  expressions  are  right  is 
that  such  is  the  way  educated  and  cultured  people  ex- 
press themselves. 

Capitalization  and  Punctuation.  —  Capitalization  and 
punctuation  should  be  taught  to  children  in  every  subject 


138  Fundament tals  in  Methods 

of  study  by  examples  and  imitation  rather  than  by  rules. 
Every  device  which  a  teacher  may  be  able  to  use  in 
particular  instances  is  allowable.  Punctuation,  it  is 
true,  is  a  difficult  subject,  and  the  same  selection  would 
be  punctuated  differently  by  several  educated  people; 
but  this  only  shows  that  there  is  much  freedom  in  the 
matter  of  punctuation,  provided  the  sense  be  preserved. 
Children  should  always  be  taught,  also,  to  capitahze 
and  punctuate  as  they  proceed  when  writing.  It  is 
not  good  practice  to  write  on  hurriedly  and  omittingly 
to  the  end  and  then  to  go  back  and  cross  our  /'s  and 
dot  our  ^''s,  capitalize  and  punctuate.  All  of  this  should 
be  attended  to  as  we  proceed ;  we  should  finish,  as  far 
as  possible,  as  we  go. 

Backbone  Words.  —  Children  should  be  taught  early, 
not  by  rule  but  by  actual  cases,  the  proper  use  of 
is  and  are,  was  and  were^  done  and  did^  has  and  have, 
and  such  words  as  form,  in  a  way,  the  backbone  of 
language  expression,  and  which  occur  almost  every  in- 
stant. Of  course  if  a  child  has  learned  the  correct 
use  of  all  such  words  at  home,  this  will  be  an  easy 
task ;  but  it  will  add  some  enrichment  to  his  language 
consciousness  to  make  him  see  that  one  word  is  used 
when  only  one  person  or  thing  is  concerned  and  that 
another  word,  or  verb,  is  used  when  two  or  more  are 
under  consideration.  Any  device  or  exercise  that  would 
arouse  interest  and  something  of  a  contest  in  this  field 
without  leading  to  impolite  seriousness  in  school  and 
at  home  might  very  appropriately  be  employed. 

The  Tabooed  List.  —  It  is  often  said  that  we  should 
never  present  incorrect  forms  to  children.     This  is  one 


Language   Work:    Elementary  139 

of  those  rules  which  we  often  hear  and  which  are  fre- 
quently appHed  outside  of  their  intended  sphere.  Such 
a  rule  is  probably  good  for  children  who  have  always 
had  in  mind  the  correct  form  only.  Then,  the  incorrect 
form  might  become  an  open  switch.  But  if  children 
have  been  accustomed  to  incorrect  expressions  rather 
than  to  correct  ones,  there  is  nothing  wrong  in  present- 
ing the  incorrect  form  and  calling  special  attention  to 
it,  as  a  warning,  impressing  its  wrongness  and  showing 
children  the  correct  form  which  should  take  its  place. 
It  must  be  said  that  most  children  are  more  or  less 
inoculated  if  not  seriously  infected  with  a  variety  of 
incorrect  expressions  that  are  current  everywhere.  In 
fact,  many  of  them  are  in  altogether  too  common  use 
among  high  school  and  even  college  graduates.  Con- 
sequently, it  would  be  well,  in  the  teaching  of  language, 
to  place  upon  the  blackboard  for  a  short  time  what 
might  be  called  ''  the  tabooed  list."  Children  should 
then  be  induced  to  avoid  such  expressions  and  to  see 
who  could  most  successfully  free  himself  from  them. 
There  is,  we  think,  no  danger  in  such  a  process,  in  the 
way  of  imitation  rather  than  of  avoidance.  The  fol- 
lowing are  some  expressions  in  common  use  upon  the 
street,  upon  the  country  road,  and  among  children 
everywhere  —  even  in  the  best  homes  and  families. 
This  Hst  might  be  added  to  by  the  teacher  or  the  pupils 
as  the  interest  of  the  class  grows. 

(i)  It  was  a  long  ways  off. 

(2)  He  donH  know  nothing  about  it. 

(3)  He  had  went  at  that  time. 

(4)  I  seen  him  yesterday. 


140  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

(5)  He  done  that  easily. 

(6)  He  learned  me  to  write. 

(7)  He  felt  hadly  about  it. 

(8)  Everybody  gave  their  consent. 

(9)  He  told  John  and  /  about  it. 

(10)  Give  me  them  books. 

(11)  He  didn't  do  nothing. 

(12)  Who  did  you  give  it  to? 

(13)  That  is  not  made  like  this  is. 

(14)  There  ainH  no  such  thing. 

Occasions  for  Language  Teaching.  —  There  are  many 
occasions  and  various  means  for  the  teaching  of  lan- 
guage. We  shall  mention  only  a  few,  leaving  the  others 
to  the  resources  and  ingenuity  of  the  teacher  and  to 
the  interest  manifested  by  the  pupils. 

The  Recitation  —  Oral  and  Written.  —  Every  recita- 
tion, whether  oral  or  written,  is  a  means  of  teaching 
language ;  it  is  a  language  exercise ;  the  pupil  expresses 
his  thoughts  upon  the  subject  in  hand,  in  speech  or  in 
writing.  Both  of  these  methods  of  recitation  should  be 
employed.  The  teacher  and  the  school  should  not  fall 
into  the  habit  of  one  to  the  exclusion  or  neglect  of  the 
other.  It  is  true  that  oral  recitation  may  be  easier.  If 
so,  the  written  method  is  likely  to  be  neglected,  and 
against  such  neglect  teachers  should  be  on  their  guard. 
The  rule  has  frequently  been  given  that  pupils  in  oral 
recitation  should  always  answer  in  full  and  complete 
sentences.  This,  like  all  rules,  may  be  either  good  or 
bad.  It  is,  however,  only  a  half  truth.  In  some  sub- 
jects and  on  some  occasions  it  is  a  good  rule ;  in  other 
subjects  and  on  other  occasions  the  practice  might  be  a 
woeful   waste    of    time    and   needless   repetition.     The 


Language   Work:    Elementary  141 

trouble  with  rules  is  that  they  may  be  applied  by  teachers 
who  do  not  think  things  out  for  themselves,  but  who  are 
parrot-hke  in  their  imitation,  and  apply  a  rule  to  in- 
stances for  which  it  was  never  intended.  To  answer 
in  full  sentences  questions  in  arithmetic,  for  example, 
where  the  answer  could  well  be  one  word,  would  be 
useless  and  monotonous ;  especially  when  the  child  has 
already  mastered  that  form  of  answer.  There  being  no 
danger  of  his  slipping  here,  insisting  that  he  repeat 
these  answers  in  full  sentences  is  a  waste  of  time  and 
effort  with  nothing  gained.  In  other  places  it  might 
be  a  good  form  of  language  drill  to  have  it  understood 
that  the  pupil  give  his  answers  in  full  and  complete 
sentences.  The  discerning  teacher  will  know  where  and 
when  to  require  or  dispense  with  this  practice. 

Reproduction  of  a  Story.  —  Another  means  of  language 
training  may  be  found  in  the  reading  or  the  telling  by 
the  teacher  of  an  interesting  story,  and  then  having  the 
children  reproduce  it.  It  should  be  said,  however,  that 
either  in  recitation  or  in  reproducing,  the  children  should 
not  understand  that  they  are  doing  this  merely  for  the 
sake  of  doing  it.  In  fact,  the  end  and  aim  of  all  these 
processes  should  be  kept  from  the  children.  The  highest 
art  is  to  conceal  art.  If  the  teacher  should  tell  the 
pupils  that  they  are  to  reproduce  a  story  merely  to  see 
how  well  they  can  do  it,  the  effect  would  be  bad.  Noth- 
ing should  be  said  about  the  teacher's  aim.  Pupils 
should  have  a  consciousness  that  they  are  doing  some- 
thing worth  while,  that  they  are  not  being  used  for  a 
purpose  —  the  absolute  truth  if  the  pupils  are  not  given 
the  teacher's  point  of  view, 


142  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

The  Interpretation  of  a  Picture.  —  Another  interesting 
exercise  is  the  presentation  of  a  new  and  beautiful  pic- 
ture of  some  kind  for  its  interpretation  by  the  class,  either 
in  speech  or  in  writing.  One  child  will  see  one  thing 
in  a  picture ;  and  another,  another.  This  is  an  excellent 
form  of  language  exercise  for  written  work.  After  the 
pupils  have  given  their  views  as  to  the  meaning  of  the 
picture  and  have  expressed  themselves  in  a  form  worthy 
to  be  handed  in,  each  pupil  might  read  his  interpretation 
to  the  class.  But,  as  in  previous  cases,  they  should  not 
be  told  that  these  interpretations  are  for  the  purpose  of 
developing  in  them  the  power  of  expression.  It  always 
injures  a  process  to  direct  our  attention  upon  it.  A 
person  can  not  walk  so  well  when  he  walks  under  inspec- 
tion as  he  does  when  he  is  entirely  unconscious  of  his 
walking.  And  so,  if  the  children  are  conscious  that  they 
are  interpreting  a  picture  merely  as  a  language  exercise, 
it  defeats,  in  large  measure,  the  object  to  be  attained. 

Letter  Writing.  —  Letter  writing  is  another  form  of 
language  work  with  which  the  pupils  should  be  familiar. 
It  is  a  form,  too,  that  is  sadly  neglected ;  for  most  people, 
after  they  leave  school  and  grow  up  to  adult  life,  find 
letter  writing  very  irksome.  Many  adults  who  have 
studied  language  in  a  fornial  manner  and  have  gone 
thru  the  grammar  from  cover  to  cover  can  not  write, 
with  any  faciHty,  an  interesting  letter.  Frequently 
grown  people  begin  a  letter  to  a  friend  and  after  writing 
a  few  meaningless  sentences,  sometimes  on  the  weather, 
they  discontinue  and  tear  it  up,  feeling  conscious  that 
they  have  said  nothing  worth  while.  High  school  grad- 
uates and  even  college  students  are  frequently  unable 


Language   Work:    Elementary  143 

to  write  a  good  letter.  When  they  come  to  apply  for  a 
teaching  position  they  can  not  write  a  letter  of  applica- 
tion that  will  help  them.  There  are  so  many  internal 
evidences  of  weakness  in  such  letters,  that  they  find  their 
way  into  the  wastebasket  of  the  superintendent  or 
board  of 'education.  These  things  should  be  attended 
to  in  the  elementary  school.  The  correct  forms  of  the 
different  types  of  letters  should  be  presented.  Children 
could  then  vary  these  to  suit  circumstances  as  their 
ability  in  letter  writing  grows  with  their  growth  and 
strengthens  with  their  strength.  Here,  as  in  all  other 
cases,  a  sample  letter  actually  written  from  beginning 
to  end  would  be  far  better  than  telling  how  to  write  a 
letter  or  being  content  with  rules.  The  pupils  should 
see  such  a  letter  actually  written  by  the  teacher  as  a 
foundation  for  future  variations. 

Blackboard  Work.  —  Another  interesting  exercise  that 
will  be  fruitful  of  results  in  language  is  the  writing  upon 
the  board  of  some  work  for  the  teacher.  We  spoke  in 
the  chapter  on  Reading  concerning  the  writing  in  this 
way  of  a  beautiful  gem  of  poetry  or  of  prose  and  of  having 
the  pupils  copy  this  into  their  notebooks.  Any  pupil, 
I  am  sure,  would  consider  it  an  honor  to  be  chosen  by 
the  teacher  to  write  such  a  selection  upon  the  blackboard, 
to  be  copied  by  the  other  pupils.  In  such  work  favorit- 
ism should  not  be  shown.  Each  pupil,  even  the  poorest 
writer,  should  be  chosen  to  do  this  work  occasionally  for 
the  teacher.  There  is  scarcely  anything  that  would  so 
elicit  effort  and  a  desire  to  do  well. 

Compositions.  —  Another  exercise  is  the  writing  of 
short   compositions.     But   the   old   method   of   merely 


144  jFtindamentals  in  Methods 

telling  the  pupils  to  write  a  composition  upon  "  The 
Dog,"  or  ''  The  Cow,"  or  "  Water,"  or  some  such  sub- 
ject without  any  discussion  of  it,  should  be  avoided.  If 
the  pupils  are  merely  assigned  a  subject  and  if  their 
thoughts  in  regard  to  it  are  not  organized,  the  composi- 
tion will  consist  of  commonplace,  meaningless  expres- 
sions. A  pupil  will  start  out  by  saying :  "  The  cow  is 
a  very  useful  animal.  She  has  two  horns,"  etc.  Now, 
let  us  take,  for  example,  a  subject  Hke  ''  How  to  build  a 
Fire."  If  we  remarked  to  the  class  that  there  are  very 
few  people  who  know  how  to  build  a  fire  properly  in  a 
wood  stove,  their  interest  would  be  aroused.  Then  if 
we  should  divide  the  whole  question  into  three  parts, 
considering,  under  the  first,  the  preparation  of  the 
stove  (the  arrangement  of  dampers,  the  cleaning  out 
of  the  ashes,  etc.),  and  the  getting  ready  of  the  materials 
(such  as  paper  or  shavings  and  then  the  finer  sticks  and 
the  coarser  materials) ;  under  the  second,  the  arrange- 
ment of  these  materials  in  the  stove,  giving  reasons  for 
such  arrangement ;  and  under  the  third,  the  precautions 
which  should  be  observed  in  regard  to  the  dampers, 
the  using  of  kerosene  oil,  the  turning  of  the  drafts  after 
the  fire  is  started,  etc., — we  should  have  a  plan  for  a 
composition  consisting  of  three  paragraphs. 

Paragraphing.  —  This  would  be  a  good  occasion  for 
the  teaching  of  paragraphing.  The  class  should  be  told 
that  in  the  first  paragraph  they  should  bring  together 
all  their  thought  in  regard  to  the  preparation  of  the 
stove  and  the  material.  In  the  second  paragraph  they 
should  place  in  consecutive  order,  as  they  come  to  them, 
all  their  thoughts  upon  the  placing  of  the  materials  in  a 


Language   Work:    Elementary  145 

particular  way  in  the  stove.  In  the  third  paragraph 
would  come  all  of  the  precautions  and  care  which  should 
be  observed.  The  pupils  should  be  taught  that  in 
writing  the  first  draft  of  their  compositions  they  should 
leave  a  little  vacant  space  between  the  different  para- 
graphs so  that  if  any  appropriate  thoughts  should  come 
to  their  minds  later  they  could  put  them  in  their  proper 
places ;  for  thoughts  or  sentences  which  properly  belong 
in  the  first  paragraph  should  not  be  put  in  the  second  or 
third,  and  those  which  properly  belong  in  the  second 
should  not  be  put  in  the  first  or  third.  The  teacher 
should  not  insist  on  a  composition  that  would  be  too 
long.  After  they  have  made  the  first  draft  and  properly 
arranged  all  of  their  thoughts,  the  composition  should 
then  be  rewritten  in  the  best  possible  form  and  handed 
in.  A  composition  on  this  subject  of,  say,  four  hundred 
or  five  hundred  words,  done  in  an  artistic  manner,  would 
be  worth  incomparably  more  than  merely  assigning  a 
subject  and  allowing  the  pupils  to  go  about  it  as  they 
pleased.  One  can  not  pump  water  from  a  dry  well  and 
children  can  not  write  thoughts  if  they  have  not  yet 
secured  them  or  learned  how  to  arrange  them  in  order. 
Correction  by  Marginal  Signs.  —  Corrections  by  mar- 
ginal signs  interest  pupils  very  much.  This  is,  too,  the 
method  of  correction  used  by  proof  readers  and  connects 
school  work  in  a  practical  manner  with  real  life.  The 
following  are  the  chief  signs  used  to  indicate  such  cor- 
rections : 

A  is  the  caret,  and  indicates  an  omission. 

8  (dele)  is  the  mark  meaning  destroy,  and  is  placed  in  the  margin. 

I.e.  means  "lower  case,"  or  small  letters. 

L 


146  Ftindamentals  in  Methods 

Cap.  or  =  means  capitalize. 
tr.  or  Co  means  transpose. 

stet  means  let  it  stand,  being  the  reverse  of  a  correction,  or  a  cor- 
rection countermanded. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  use  of  the  foregoing  we  would 
give  the  following : 

^-^^^ne  ship  drives  east  and  another  west  c^* 

With  the  self-same  winds  that  blow. 
vJ^  ^Tis  the  set  of  the  sails^not  the  gales  omX  / 

That  sends  us  the  way  we  go. 

"^  ^Like  the  winds  of  the  sea  are  the  waves  of  FATE    C.c. 
'"\^  As  we  journey^fnru\alon^  life. 
\>  ^Tis  the  set  of  the  soul  that  decides  the  goal 

And  not  the  calm  or  the  strife  -that-.  ^  ^  ^^ 

Dictation.  —  An  interesting  and  profitable  exercise  which 
the  teacher  might  employ  in  language  work  is  the  dic- 
tation of  short  selections  or  of  sentences  to  be  written 
correctly  by  the  pupils  and  handed  in  by  them  in  the  best 
possible  form.  Not  many  people  can  dictate  distinctly 
and  with  the  proper  measure  of  time  so  as  to  allow  the 
writer  to  take  down  the  product  accurately.  The  correct 
habit  of  copying  after  the  dictation  of  another  is  one  that 
should  be  taught.  Many  pupils  copy  by  what  might 
be  termed  the  word  process ;  that  is,  they  hear  only  one 
word  at  a  time  and  then  write  it  down,  after  the  word 
method.  Others  hear  a  whole  sentence  and  then,  after 
getting  the  thought  and  the  form,  proceed  to  write  it 
as  a  sentence.  This  is  better  than  the  word  process. 
The  teacher  in  dictating  and  the  pupils  in  Hstening  should 
become  so  accustomed  to  each  other  that  there  will  be 


Language   Work:    Elementary  147 

harmony  of  action.  This  measured  rate  of  dictation 
induces  proper  pronunciation  and  distinct  enunciation 
on  the  part  of  the  teacher  and  also  a  keener  discrimina- 
tion, by  the  sense  of  hearing,  on  the  part  of  the  pupils. 
As  a  sample  of  sentences  that  might  be  dictated  we 
would  give  the  following : 

(i)  There's  one  left  in  that  box  of  theirs. 

(2)  I,  too,  wish  to  get  two  books. 

(3)  Don't  fail  to  dot  your  i's  and  cross  your  ^'s. 

(4)  Three  2's  and  two  3's  equal  twelve. 

(5)  "  'Twas  ever  thus  from  childhood's  hour 
I've  seen  my  fondest  hopes  decay." 

(6)  The  plus's  and  minus's  were  omitted. 

The  discussion  following  such  exercises  as  this  should 
be  such  as  to  clinch,  for  all  time,  the  knowledge  of  the 
proper  form  in  regard  to  all  the  points  discussed.  Little 
is  gained  if  a  pupil  learns  in  one  lesson  that  symbols 
are  made  plural  by  an  apostrophe,  and  in  the  very  next 
lesson  proceeds  to  make  mistakes  in  regard  to  them. 
In  such  cases  language  goes  in  one  ear  and  out  the  other. 
Nails  are  driven  and  not  clinched.  Such  knowledge  is 
merely  stuck  on  and  has  not  sent  its  roots  into  the  mind ; 
it  is  not  growing  there ;  it  is  dead.  Knowledge  of  this 
kind  counts  for  nothing,  and  is  all  too  prevalent  in  schools 
everywhere.  Again  we  would  say  that  a  little  well  done 
should  be  the  ideal. 

The  Hearing  Needs  Training.  —  One  of  the  greatest 
defects  among  children  is  that  they  do  not  hear  well. 
They  do  not  hear,  not  because  there  is  any  defect  in 
the  organ  but  because  they  have  not  been  taught  to  dis- 
criminate keenly  what  they  do  hear.     If  the  teacher 


148  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

should  make  certain  announcements  as  plainly  as  it  is 
possible  to  make  them,  some  one  or  several  would  later 
make  inquiries  in  regard  to  the  very  thing  announced: 
it  merely  shows  that  they  do  not  hear  well. 

The  Typewriter.  —  One  of  the  best  methods  of  teaching 
language  would  be  by  the  use  of  the  typewriter.  It 
would  be  a  good  thing  if  all  children  should  be  required 
in  school  to  learn  to  operate  the  tj^Dewriter  according 
to  scientific  principles  and  with  good  movement  habits. 
It  would  conduce  to  clearer  knowledge  in  regard  to  capi- 
talization, punctuation,  spelhng,  and  paragraphing. 
It  is  obscurity  and  slovenliness  of  form  that  indicate,  if 
they  do  not  induce,  indefiniteness  and  slovenliness  of 
thought.  There  is  scarcely  anything  that  so  brings  a 
pupil  to  a  reaUzation  of  his  merits  and  demerits  as  to 
be  compelled  to  face  his  product  in  what  is  equivalent 
to  the  printed  form.  In  typewriting  and  in  print  every- 
thing stands  out  clearly  and  every  mistake  is  evident. 
It  would  face  the  pupil  and  the  pupil  would  have  to  face 
it.  It  would  conduce  to  honesty  and  would  not  allow 
of  *'  bluffing."  It  is  not  so  easy  to  dot  an  "  e  "  when 
one  does  not  know  whether  an  ''  e  "  or  an  "  i "  should  be 
used  ! 

The  Idea  of  Quantity  too  Prevalent.  —  In  the  present 
teaching  of  EngHsh,  pupils  and  students  are  required 
to  do  three  or  four  times  as  much  work  in  quantity  as 
is  productive  of  any  value  whatever.  Teachers  seem  to 
think  that  in  order  to  keep  the  students  busy  and  in 
order  to  estabHsh  a  record  of  not  being  "  easy,"  they  must 
pile  work  mountains  high  upon  students.  Many  of  these 
essays  demanded  of  students  are  never  read  carefully 


Language    Work:    Elementary  I49 

and  criticized  helpfully.  If  a  quarter  of  the  quantity 
were  required,  and  that  in  typewritten  form,  it  would  be 
incomparably  easier  for  the  teacher  and  better  for  the 
pupil  or  student.  Of  course  the  school  should  furnish 
typewriting  faciUties  and  opportunities.  But  no  science 
teacher  would  think  of  teaching  chemistry  or  physics 
without  a  laboratory  and  a  full  equipment  of  apparatus. 
Neither  should  it  be  required  of  teachers  of  English  to 
do  their  work  without  the  apparatus  wherewith  to  do  it 
well. 

A  Textbook  in  Language.  —  In  conclusion,  the  ques- 
tion may  be  raised  as  to  when,  if  at  all,  a  textbook  on 
language  work  should  be  used  or  required.  As  in 
reading,  we  believe  that  a  textbook  on  language  is  of 
value  merely  as  a  source  book.  It  may  save  the  teacher 
much  labor  in  gathering  material  or  in  suggesting 
directions  —  in  a  word,  in  the  way  of  method.  But  we 
are  inclined  to  think  that  the  better  teachers  would  prefer 
to  teach  language  as  they  teach  morals,  upon  any  and 
all  occasions  that  may  offer  themselves  during  the  course 
of  the  day,  or  in  connection  with  other  subjects.  If  a 
textbook  be  used,  language  work  tends  to  bec6me  merely 
formal ;  to  the  pupil  it  then  becomes  the  end  instead  of 
a  means.  This  inevitably  leads  to  the  result  that  pupils 
lose  interest  in  the  subject ;  for  whenever  the  means,  or 
form,  becomes  an  end,  interest  inevitably  declines. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

LANGUAGE  WORK:    ADVANCED 

Language  Lessons  and  Grammar.  —  It  has  been  cus- 
tomary to  make  a  distinction  between  language  work 
and  grammar.  It  has  been  said  that  the  method  of 
language  lessons  is  inductive,  while  grammar  begins 
with  formulated  rules  and  applies  them  deductively. 
This  is  true  only  in  small  part.  Grammar,  like  spelHng, 
reading,  and  writing,  is  only  one  phase  of  language  work 
as  a  whole.  Language  work  is  a  much  broader  term 
than  grammar  —  it  is  the  genus,  while  grammar  is  a 
species.  The  former  refers  to  all  phases  of  the  expression, 
or  external  aspect,  of  thought,  while  grammar,  properly 
speaking,  is  limited  to  the  sentence  as  a  sentence.  Some 
one  has  defined  grammar  as ''  The  science  of  the  sentence," 
as  algebra  has  been  defined  as  "  The  science  of  the  equa- 
tion." The  phase  of  the  sentence  with  which  grammar 
deals  is  that  of  the  internal  relations  of  the  ideas  and 
hence  of  the  words  in  the  sentence,  and  of  their  proper 
forms.  The  external  relations  of  the  sentence  become 
the  subject-matter  of  rhetoric. 

Grammar  Somewhat  Abstract.  —  As  a  sentence  is 
the  expression,  or  the  form,  of  the  thought,  so  words 
are  the  expression,  or  the  form,  of  ideas ;  and  since  every 
sentence  implies  or  involves  several  words  there  must  be 
an  interplay  of  ideas  among  themselves  in  the  sentence ; 

ISO 


Language   Work:    Advanced  151 

that  is,  the  words,  being  representatives  of  the  ideas,  must 
have  relations  one  with  another. 

Since  the  words  are  dependent  upon  ideas,  the  latter 
must  be  definitely  grasped  or  reahzed  in  their  relations 
before  pupils  acquire  a  keen  insight  into  the  subject  of 
grammar;  and  since  ideas  are  somewhat  abstract  for 
children  or  even  for  mature  minds,  the  subject  of 
grammar  is  a  somewhat  abstract  study ;  in  fact,  some  one 
has  said  that  grammar  is  fully  as  abstract  as  psychology. 

Grammar,  Psychology,  and  Logic.  —  Grammar  is 
closely  related  to  psychology  and  logic.  The  ''  proposi- 
tion," with  which  logic  deals,  is  the  "  declarative  sen- 
tence "  of  grammar.  In  psychology  we  find  that  there 
are  three  primary  modes  of  functioning  of  the  human 
mind,  viz. :  (i)  knowing,  or  intellect ;  (2)  feeling,  or 
emotion ;  and  (3)  wilHng,  or  volition. 

The  declarative  sentence  in  grammar  is  addressed  to 
the  intellect  and  gives  information ;  while  the  interroga- 
tive sentence  is  addressed  to  the  intellect  and  asks  for 
information.  The  exclamatory  sentence  is  addressed 
to  the  emotional  nature  and  is  intended  to  express  or  to 
arouse  feeling.  The  imperative  sentence  is  addressed 
to  the  will.  The  proposition  in  logic  and  the  sentence  in 
grammar  swing  upon  the  copula  as  a  pivot.  While 
grammar  is  related  thus  closely  to  these  other  two  mental 
and  somewhat  abstract  sciences,  it  should  be  remembered 
that  each  of  them  is  capable  of  an  elementary  and  quite 
concrete  treatment  and  presentation.  All  people  and 
even  children  are  unconscious  logicians  and  psycholo- 
gists; and  this  knowledge  which  they  possess  will  be 
all  the  more  interesting  and  satisfying  if  it  be  made  some- 


15^  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

what  conscious  by  instruction  and  concrete  illustrations 
and  examples. 

Where  to  Begin.  —  Properly  approached,  as  we  said, 
either  psychology  or  grammar  can  be  made  reasonably 
plain,  at  least  in  their  elementary  forms,  to  a  child  in  the 
upper  grades  of  the  elementary  school.  The  trouble  is 
everywhere  that  teachers  do  not  begin  the  teaching  of 
grammar  where  the  children  are,  but  from  the  point  of 
view  of  adults  and  of  scholars.  That  is,  grammar  is  too 
often  begun  by  teaching  to  mere  children  the  principles 
and  rules  which  have  been  formulated  at  the  close  of  a 
long  process  of  thinking.  Grammar  should  be  begun  as 
every  other  science  is  begun  —  with  the  facts.  There 
are  language  facts  with  which  the  child  may  begin  as 
there  are  facts  in  every  other  field.  The  proper  method 
here  as  elsewhere  is  to  have  the  children  gather  and 
examine  these  language  facts,  classify  them  carefully,  and 
then  proceed  by  inference  and  induction.  If  grammar 
were  taught  in  this  way,  it  would  be  an  interesting  and, 
indeed,  a  fascinating  subject.  But  like  every  other 
subject  it  should  be  begun  at  the  pupil's  psychological 
home.  Its  central  problem  is  the  keen  and  sensitive 
discernment  of  the  relations  and  the  mutual  interplay 
of  ideas  (and  hence  of  words)  upon  one  another.  If 
pupils  grow  into  discrimination  in  this  respect,  grammar 
may  be,  in  the  author's  opinion,  the  real  logic  of  the  com- 
mon school,  excelling  the  time-honored  subject  of  arith- 
metic. 

Why  Disliked.  —  The  reason  that  children  do  not  like 
grammar  in  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades  is  that  they 
do   not  clearly  grasp   the  language   facts  with  which 


Language   Work:    Advanced  153 

they  are  dealing,  or  see  the  relations  between  them.  We 
frequently  see  the  same  inability  among  pupils  who  are 
studying  geometry  in  the  high  school.  They  memorize 
the  words  of  a  demonstration  or  the  letters  and  lines  of  a 
figure  and  do  not  get  beyond  this.  They  can  not  see  the 
''  point "  of  the  proof  and  may  be  induced  to  go  round 
and  round  with  the  demonstration,  like  a  cat  chasing  its 
tail.  So  it  is  with  grammar  when  poorly  taught  and 
when  we  proceed  deductively  from  the  position  of  one 
who  has  reached  the  goal,  instead  of  one  who  is  just 
starting  in  the  race.  Pupils  become  enmeshed  in  the 
words  and  the  rules  and  do  not  arrive  at  a  clear  discern- 
ment of  the  ideas  and  the  relations  underlying  or  behind 
the  words.  The  ideas  and  thoughts,  as  we  said,  are  ab- 
stract, and  children  find  it  difficult  to  define,  reaHze,  or 
picture  them  with  sufficient  clearness  to  make  them  the 
basis  of  a  science.  There  is  such  a  flux  and  flow  in  it  all 
that  children  often  become  lost  and  disheartened.  All 
this,  however,  can  be  easily  avoided  by  starting  where 
the  children  are,  and  proceeding  in  the  right  manner 
slowly  and  carefully  as  in  any  natural  science.  This  is 
the  problem  of  the  teacher,  and  few  there  are  who  grapple 
it  properly  and  proceed  successfully. 

The  Sentence,  a  Cosmos.  —  The  sentence  is  composed 
of  an  aggregate  of  words,  but  it  is  not  a  mere  aggregate ; 
the  words  have  a  systematic  relation  to  each  other, 
depending  upon  the  ideas  which  they  represent.  Ideas 
of  all  kinds  are  real  facts,  or  things  in  the  mental  order, 
or  world.  The  words  are  merely  the  representatives  of 
these  ideas.  The  ideas  and  words  must  be  in  a  certain 
definite  order  and  relation  to  express  sense ;  if  they  are 


154  Fundamentals  i7i  MetJiods 

out  of  order  and  relation,  the  aggregate  expresses  non- 
sense. If  the  words  of  a  sentence  be  transposed  about  at 
random  and  thrown  out  of  their  proper  relation,  they 
will  not  express  sense  at  all.  Consequently,  meaning 
emerges  out  of  the  proper  relation  of  ideas  to  one  another. 
The  materials  of  a  house,  strewn  about  in  piles  upon  the 
ground,  do  not  constitute  a  house ;  they  must  first  be 
put  into  architectural  relation  in  order  that  we  may  have 
a  building.  The  situation  in  regard  to  a  sentence  and 
its  parts  is  accurately  analogous. 

Thought  Material.  —  Thought  material  in  the  sentence 
may  be  regarded  and  treated,  in  analysis,  as  we  do  the 
materials  in  a  house.  There  are  the  substantive  materials, 
in  the  way  of  lumber,  brick,  or  stone;  the  modifying, 
or  attrihut^e  materials,  in  the  way  of  paint,  varnish,  or 
even  the  cutting  and  shaping  of  the  substantive  material ; 
and  the  relation  material,  in  the  form  of  mortar,  nails, 
or  the  joinings.  So  it  is,  in  the  kinds  of  thought  material 
in  the  construction  known  as  a  sentence :  we  have  the 
nounal,  or  substantive,  ideas;  the  attribute  ideas  em- 
bodied in  some  verbs,  in  adjectives,  and  in  adverbs; 
and  the  relational  ideas  in  the  copula,  the  preposition, 
and  the  conjunction.  When  a  pupil  can  see  what  a 
word  or  an  idea  does  in  the  sentence  there  will  be  Uttle 
trouble  in  classifying  and  naming  it.  This  is  the  only 
intelhgent  way  to  proceed  in  teaching  grammar,  as  it 
would  be  in  the  construction  of  a  house.  If  the  pupil  is 
as  familiar  with  his  different  kinds  of  thought  material 
as  he  is  with  the  materials  of  his  skates,  his  sled,  or  his 
house,  there  will  be  no  difficulty  in  interesting  him  in 
sentence  analysis. 


Language   Work:    Advanced  155 

Ideas,  not  Words,  Related.  —  Strictly  speaking,  words 
as  words  are  not  related  to  each  other  at  all.  One 
word  does  not  influence  another  word ;  but  since  the  ideas 
which  these  words  represent  are  related,  and  hence  affect 
one  another,  we  speak  in  grammar  of  one  word^s  modify- 
ing another.  The  language  is  figurative  and  merely 
means  that  it  is  the  ideas  of  which  the  words  are  rep- 
resentatives, that  mutually  influence  or  modify  one 
another.  When  we  say  that  words  are  related  we  mean 
that  it  is  their  implied  ideas  that  are  related. 

Subject  and  Predicate.  —  The  fundamental  relation 
of  ideas  in  a  sentence  is  that  of  subject  and  predicate. 
The  pupils  will  have  learned  these  terms  during  the  pre- 
vious years  in  the  grades.  All  such  grammatical  terms 
should  be  taught  as  soon  as  possible,  just  as  we  teach 
the  meaning  of  words  in  any  other  field.  It  is  a  mis- 
take to  suppose  that  the  terms  subject,  predicate, 
etc.,  should  be  left  until  the  pupil  begins  the  study  of 
what  is  called  grammar,  in  the  seventh  or  eighth  grade. 
In-  fact,  no  such  wide  distinction  should  be  made  between 
what  is  called  "  formal  grammar  "  and  language.  Gram- 
mar and  language  are  of  the  same  kind ;  and  since  the 
pupil's  knowledge  of  language,  whatever  phase  of  it 
we  may  have  in  mind,  grows  from  the  primary  grades 
to  the  high  school  and  on  to  college  and  university, 
the  meaning  of  subject  and  predicate  should  be  learned 
as  other  words  are  learned,  by  being  heard  and  used 
constantly  and  applied  frequently.  In  this  way  the 
pupil  absorbs  the  meaning  thru  the  years.  This  is  the 
way  he  has  learned  words  in  babyhood ;  meanings  are 
gathered^  thru    hearing   and    using    them    in    constant 


156  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

repetition  and  in  customary  relations.  The  pupils  as 
they  mount  from  grade  to  grade  in  their  spiral  ascent  and 
come  into  mental  contact  with  all  such  technical  terms, 
will  be  made  more  and  more  clearly  conscious  of  their 
meanings  by  teachers  who  understand  their  business. 

The  Identical  Sentence.  —  An  excellent  exercise  for 
cultivating  as  well  as  testing  the  power  of  discriminating 
subject  and  predicate  may  be  found  in  what  are  called 
"  identical  sentences."  In  the  sentence,  "  A  mighty 
man  is  he,"  it  is  evident  at  once  that  the  subject  is  "  he," 
altho  it  is  out  of  its  normal  order.  But  in  such  sen- 
tences as,  ''  Napoleon  was  the  greatest  soldier  of  the 
ages,"  and  ^'  The  greatest  soldier  of  the  ages  was  Napo- 
leon," some  reason  or  test  must  be  given.  It  will  not  do 
to  say  that  the  subject  is  *'  what  is  talked  about  " ; 
for  in  the  sentence,  '^  He  shot  a  bear,"  all  children  and 
most  adults  would  say  that  "  bear  "  is  what  is  talked 
about.  But  if  the  subject  is  that  concerning  which  there 
is  a  predication,  and  if  the  predicate  is  the  new  informa- 
tion or  additional  Hght  cast  upon  the  subject  (which  is 
in  need  of  light),  we  have  a  cue  or  clue  to  the  solution. 
In  the  sentence,  '^  The  greatest  of  these  is  charity," 
the  subject  will  be  determined  by  finding  out  the  idea 
under  consideration,  upon  which  flash  lights  are  being 
turned,  among  others  the  one  in  this  sentence.  The 
predicate  is  always  a  better  known  idea  than  the  subject ; 
otherwise  there  would  be  no  need  of  a  predication.  The 
predicate  is  the  searchHght  turned  upon  the  subject 
in  order  to  illuminate  it;  and  the  subject  is  the  idea 
needing  or  receiving  the  new  light  or  the  additional  light 
of  the  predicate. 


Language   Work:    Advanced  157 

Grammar  a  Part  of  Language  Work.  —  There  is,  then, 
no  dividing  line  between  grammar  and  language  work. 
While  grammar  deals  primarily,  as  we  said,  with  the 
sentence  in  its  internal  relations,  it  does  not  hesitate  to 
deal  with  and  to  systematize  the  varying  forms  of  words 
which  we  call  inflection.  The  inflections  of  nouns, 
pronouns,  verbs,  adjectives,  and  adverbs  are  conse- 
quently made  the  subject  of  study  in  grammar;  but 
these,  of  course,  had  been  studied  in  language  work  from 
the  primary  department.  Consequently,  language  work, 
so-called,  moves  upward  into  what  is  called  grammar, 
and  grammar  moves  downward  into  what  is  called  lan- 
guage work.  The  two  overlap  and  flow  into  each  other. 
Nor  do  their  methods  differ  otherwise  than  the  elemen- 
tary and  more  advanced  phase  of  any  other  subject  of 
study.  As  we  proceed,  similarities  and  regularities 
are  noted  and  expressed  in  what  are  called  rules.  These 
rules,  then,  are  used  for  further  progress.  They  merely 
formulate  in  general  statements  our  observations  and 
conclusions  from  them,  to  date.  Like  systematized,  or 
scientific  knowledge  in  any  field,  the  method  of  pro- 
cedure in  language  becomes  more  and  more  deductive. 
But  the  deductive  rules  are  tools  which  the  pupils 
have  wrought  out  by  their  own  efforts  or  intelligent  co- 
operation. 

Sentence  Analysis.  —  The  analysis  of  a  sentence  is 
for  the  purpose  of  showing  or  explaining  how  one  part 
of  it  is  related  to  another  and  how  these  parts  mutually 
affect  each  other.  To  analyze  a  sentence  is  to  show  the 
interplay  of  the  parts,  which  means  the  interplay  of  the 
ideas  represented.     A  watchmaker  can  analyze  a  watch 


158  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

and  show  how  each  wheel  is  related  to  another,  and  how 
this,  in  turn,  affects  a  third.  When  he  has  taken  the 
watch  to  pieces  and  shown  us  the  different  wheels  he  can 
put  all  these  into  proper  relations  again  so  that  the  watch 
will  run  and  perform  its  true  function.  So  it  is  with  the 
sentence.  In  analyzing  it  we  exhibit  the  different  kinds 
of  words ;  that  is,  the  kinds  of  ideas  which  they  rep- 
resent. And  having  noted  these,  we  show  the  relations 
which  they  severally  bear  to  one  another  in  order  that 
the  whole  group  may  function  in  meaning  and  express 
a  thought. 

How  Ideas  Work.  —  If  a  pupil  can  not  handle  with 
accuracy  and  definiteness  the  ideas  with  which  he  is 
dealing  and  if  he  can  not  see  that  one  idea  plays  upon  and 
affects  another,  he  is  not  ready  for  grammatical  analysis. 
If  a  teacher  should  proceed  too  rapidly  with  such  a  pupil, 
taking  him  into  water  which  is  altogether  too  deep,  he 
will  flounder  and  finally  become  lost.  A  pupil  can  pro- 
ceed with  safety  only  when  he  has  the  power  of  dis- 
crimination in  the  mental  material  with  which  he  is 
dealing,  and  when  he  sees  that  some  parts  and  kinds  are 
affected  or  played  upon  by  other  portions  of  it.  The 
pupil  can  clearly  see  that  when  wood  is  painted  the  paint 
plays  upon  the  wood  and  affects  it.  Now,  if  he  can 
see  that  when  an  idea  represented  by  the  word  sweety 
for  instance,  plays  upon  another  idea  represented,  for 
example,  by  the  word  apple^  he  has  a  situation  exactly 
similar  to  that  of  the  painted  wood.  If  the  pupil  can 
be  familiarized  with  this  interplay  of  ideas,  and  the  way 
in  which  one  idea  is  related  to  another,  he  is  acquiring 
a  knowledge  and  a  discriminating  sense  which  is  the 


Language   Work:    Advanced  159 

foundation  of  what  is  called  the  science  of  grammar. 
It  is  a  comprehensive  grasp  of  the  relations  and  proper 
forms  of  words  in  a  sentence. 

Parsing.  — ■  What  we  call  ''  parsing  "  in  grammar  is 
merely  giving  the  nature  or  kind,  variation,  relation,  and 
consequent  classification  of  the  words  (representing  ideas) 
with  which  we  are  working.  In  the  old-time  teaching 
the  complete  systematized  knowledge  of  the  scholar, 
so  far  as  such  variations  and  classifications  were  con- 
cerned, were  prematurely  imposed,  ready-made,  upon 
the  young  pupil,  with  the  unavoidable  consequence  that 
he  became  overwhelmed  with  the  vast  and  complicated 
system.  The  whole  "  system  "  of  Latin  grammar  was 
imposed  upon  English  grammar,  and  as  a  consequence, 
children  could  not  see  any  sense  in  it.  They  could  not 
see  why  we  speak,  for  example,  of  the  gender  of  Enghsh 
words;  and  who  can  blame  them  ?  Gender  may  be  con- 
ceived of  as  a  conventional  attribute  of  Latin  words,  but 
to  transfer  it  and  impose  it  upon  Enghsh  words  is  be- 
wildering and  nonsensical.  The  teacher  and  his  class 
should  proceed  in  regard  to  the  nature,  variation,  use, 
etc.,  of  words  in  an  inductive  manner  and  direction,  until 
pupils  become  quite  adept  in  the  discrimination  and  in 
the  classification  of  the  thought  material  with  which 
they  are  deahng. 

A  Too  Common  Situation.  —  The  writer  once  visited 
a  school  and  witnessed  there  a  lesson  in  grammar,  wherein 
the  teacher  and  her  class  were  floundering  and,  indeed, 
drowning,  figuratively  speaking,  in  the  subject  of  parti- 
ciples and  infinitives.  The  pupils  showed  plainly  that 
they  had  no  discrimination  in  regard  to  the  nature,  form, 


l6o  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

and  use  of  the  thought  material  which  they  were  han- 
dling, and  the  teacher  showed  that  her  discrimination 
was  but  little,  if  any,  better. 

Grammar,  a  Science,  not  an  Art.  —  Grammar,  like 
many  other  sciences,  is  theoretical  rather  than  practical ; 
that  is,  it  is  systematized  knowledge  of  the  true  relations 
between  words  in  sentences.  It  does  not  necessarily 
imply  that  those  who  study  grammar  will,  on  this  ac- 
count, make  no  mistakes  or  possibly  fewer  mistakes  in 
the  use  ^  of  the  language.  This  is  probably  the  real 
distinction  between  language  teaching,  as  such,  and 
grammar.  Both,  as  we  said,  should  be  inductive,  but 
language  lessons  properly  place  the  primary  accent  upon 
doings  while  grammar  places  it  upon  knowing.  Conse- 
quently, grammar  may  properly  be  conceived  as  a  science, 
while  language  work  attempts  to  train  in  the  art  of  ex- 
pression. The  art  is  learned  by  the  doing,  and  is  begun 
in  the  nursery  or  the  home,  while  the  science  emerges 
from  the  art  when  our  knowledge  becomes  conscious  and 
systematized.  Art  in  every  field  precedes  science ;  and 
so,  here,  the  science  of  grammar  is  taken  up  after  the  art 
has  been  fairly  well  learned.  We  should  not  trust  to  a 
knowledge  of  the  science  to  bring  about  the  art;  one 
may  know  grammar  from  cover  to  cover  and  yet  make 
innumerable  blunders  in  the  art  of  speech.  Correct- 
ness in  speech  hearkens  back  to  the  home  and  to  com- 
panions. 

Does  Grammar  Aid  the  Art  of  Expression  ?  —  We 
would  not  say,  however,  that  grammar  does  not  aid  at 
all  in  correct  language  expression ;  but  it  is  a  mistake  to 
say  that  it  is  the  science  which  teaches  us  how  to  speak 


Language   Work:    Adva7iced  i6i 

and  write  correctly :  this  is  not  its  primary  aim.  It  is, 
it  is  true,  of  more  help  in  written  language  than  in 
spoken,  for  in  the  former  we  have  more  time  and  op- 
portunity to  make  corrections;  while  in  the  latter,  the 
word  is  spoken  in  conformity  with  old  habit  before  the 
mistake  is  noticed.  Unless  the  rules  which  have  been 
deduced  from  language  facts  are  applied,  and  that  with 
great  frequency,  pupils  who  have  graduated  from 
high  school  or  even  from  college,  with  a  full  knowledge 
of  grammar,  may  still  continue  to  make  grammatical 
mistakes.  Pupils  may  learn  all  of  the  rules  governing 
the  possessive  case  and  yet  feel  very  insecure  and  make 
many  blunders  in  this  direction.  We  have  known  per- 
sons who  could  tell  with  accuracy  just  the  proper  use  of 
will  and  shall^  would  and  should^  and  yet  who  made 
no  discriminating  use  of  these  words  in  actual  writing 
or  speech.  It  is  theory  without  practice;  knowing, 
without  doing. 

The  Diagram.  —  The  visual  picturing  of  the  relations 
between  words  in  a  sentence  is  frequently  found  to  be 
of  help  to  pupils  in  grasping  such  relations.  In  some 
textbooks  the  subject  of  diagraming  has  been  wrought 
out  in  great  detail  and  into  a  complete  system.  It  may 
be  that  in  some  instances  the  diagram  may  have  become 
an  end  in  itself,  and  pupils  may  have  become  diagram- 
minded.  If  this  be  true,  it  is  simply  an  illustration  of  how 
a  good  thing  may  be  abused.  Some  diagraming,  or 
visual  representation,  however,  may  be  a  great  help. 
Knowledge  received  from  two  senses  is  usually  more 
clear  and  satisfactory  than  knowledge  received  from 
one  sense  alone;  and   knowledge  received  thru    three 


1 62  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

senses  is  usually  clearer  than  that  received  from  two 
only. 

Now,  since  language  itself  has  a  usual,  visual  form  upon 
the  printed  page  and  since  the  eye  moves  toward  the 
right  and  downward,  there  is  a  certain  definite  form  in 
which  thoughts  are  actually  diagramed  upon  the  page. 
In  Enghsh  the  subject  usually  comes  first ;  the  predicate, 
next ;  and  the  copula,  wherever  there  is  need,  between. 
If  these  thought  forms  be  presented  visually,  the  children 
are  given  something  for  the  mind  to  tie  to  while  the 
attention  may  play  about  it.  The  diagram  may  serve 
as  a  sort  of  tether  by  means  of  which  the  mind  may  move 
around  in  its  investigation.  The  following  is  a  typical 
thought  form : 

MAN        (WAS)        LIEUTENANT 
The  formerly  a 

we  saw  whom  in  army 

yesterday  the 

United  States 

Note:   (i)  Subject  underscored  once;  the  predicate  twice. 

(2)  The  main  predication  written  large;    the  clause  and 

all  modifiers  written  small. 

(3)  The  limiting  element  written  below  the  middle  of  the 

one  modified. 

(4)  The  copula  may  stand  alone  or  be  wrapped  up  with  an 

attribute  as  in  "saw." 

Grammatical  Terminology.  —  There  is  a  lamentable 
confusion  among  grammarians  on  the  technical  terms 
employed  by  them.  So  many  of  these  terms  are 
ambiguous  that  the  ambiguity  and  resulting  confusion 
make  a,  ^'  sea  of  troubles  "  for  pupils  and  teachers  alike. 


Language   Work:    Advanced  163 

The  ohject^  object  complement,  and  objective  complement 
may  be  given  as  examples  of  "  confusion  worse  con- 
founded." Even  the  simple  technical  term,  predicate, 
has  no  well-defined  and  uniform  meaning.  This  should 
mean,  as  we  said  under  ''  Identical  Sentences,"  the 
idea  or  ideas  which  immediately  and  directly  illumi- 
nate the  subject  as  the  speaker  or  writer  intends. 
This  idea  may  be  either  attributive  or  substantive.  It 
may  be  a  simple  idea  as  ''  red  "in  "  The  barn  is  red," 
or  a  compound  idea  as  "  painted  red  "  in  "  The  barn 
was  painted  red."  The  part  of  the  compound  idea  which 
helps  the  basic,  or  verbal  part  to  make  the  simple 
predicate  is  called  a  complement.  Of  course  every  word 
in  a  sentence  is  complementary  in  the  general  sense; 
but  a  complement  in  the  restricted,  or  technical,  sense 
is  an  idea  which  helps  out  the  attributive  verb  in  the 
simple  predicate.  Consequently  what  is  known  as 
the  direct  object  is  not  a  complement  in  the  technical 
sense  any  more  than  is  any  other  limiting,  or  determin- 
ing idea.  The  phrase  objective  complement  as  distin- 
guished from  subjective  complement  is  appropriately 
discriminating,  as  the  complement  characterizes  the 
object  instead  of  the  subject,  as  in  *^  He  painted  the 
house  whiter  In  "  The  house  was  painted  white,''  the 
complement  is  subjective,  for  it  characterizes  the  sub- 
ject. The  pure  copula  is  in  no  sense  a  predicate;  it 
merely  puts  the  predicating  idea  into  relation  with  the 
subject  idea.  If  teachers  and  pupils  understand  clearly 
the  nature  and  use  of  the  ideas  with  which  they  are 
dealing,  they  will  not  be  misled  by  a  confusing  termi- 
nology.    It  would,  however,  be  well  if   the   technical 


164  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

terms  of  grammar  were   simplified   and   rendered  un- 
ambiguous. 

Difficult  to  Teach.  —  Grammar  is  one  of  the  most 
difficult  subjects  to  teach  and  probably  one  of  the  most 
difficult  to  present  in  textbook  form.  In  fact,  the  ideal 
text  on  grammar  has  not  yet  been  written,  tho  there 
are  many  good  books  which  follow  the  direction  indicated 
in  the  foregoing  discussion.  But  the  textbook  can  not 
teach  alone,  and  as  in  every  other  subject,  it  is  the  in- 
telUgent,  wide-awake,  ingenious,  and  inspiring  teacher 
who  must  be  depended  upon  to  "  deliver  the  goods." 
But  with  such  a  teacher  grammar  is  one  of  the  most 
fascinating  subjects  in  the  school  curriculum. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

ARITHMETIC:  ELEMENTARY 

In  Primary  Grades.  —  Arithmetic,  or  what  is  usually 
called  "  number  work,"  should  be  taught  during  the 
primary  grades  in  an  incidental  and  correlated  manner 
rather  than  regularly  and  systematically.  It  can  best 
be  taught  in  this  incidental  and  accidental  way;  oc- 
casions without  number  come  up  in  the  child's  life  and 
in  the  schoolroom  when  number  work  of  some  kind 
must  be  used.  Moreover,  conceptions  of  number  and 
of  number  relations  are  best  gleaned  and  learned  by 
children  in  this  indirect,  concrete,  and  practical  manner. 
A  child  does  not  need  to  thank  his  teacher  for  the  knowl- 
edge of  numbers  which  he  acquires  during  these  early 
years :  he  would  become  possessed  of  such  knowledge 
without  her.  During  childhood  pupils  play  and  count 
marbles;  they  gather  and  count  eggs;  and  they  hear 
of  measurements  of  various  kinds.  The  good  teacher, 
of  course,  can  make  numerous  occasions  for  presenting 
numbers  incidentally  but  none  the  less  effectively. 
Children  acquire  number  ideas  without  knowing  it,  and 
this  is  the  best  way  to  get  them.  The  teacher  should 
have  on  hand  the  different  standards  of  measurement 
and  various  kinds  of  concrete  objects  or  apparatus  in- 
volving numbers.  She  should  have  a  foot  rule,  a  yard- 
stick,  a  pint,   quart,   and  gallon  measure,   etc.      They 

i6s 


1 66  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

learn  by  repeated  references  how  far  a  mile,  a  half-mile, 
a  rod,  or  a  yard  is,  and  they  may  be  taught  to  measure 
the  room  or  their  own  height  in  feet  and  inches.  They 
learn  the  paging  in  their  first  and  second  readers  and  the 
meaning  of  it,  and  they  learn  to  apply  their  counting  in 
all  their  practical  experiences.  During  the  early  years 
this  concrete  work  is  about  all  they  should  be  required 
to  do. 

The  Griibe  Method.  —  It  has  been  customary  in  the 
past,  and  the  practice  still  prevails  to  some  extent  to-day, 
to  follow  what  is  called  the  Grube  or  similar  method  in 
all  its  details.  An  interminable  and  compHcated  process 
is  thus  imposed  upon  Httle  children,  six  to  eight  years  of 
age.  They  used  to  be  kept,  for  example,  for  the  first 
year  upon  the  number  ten,  and  all  the  numbers  under 
ten  were  analyzed  in  every  possible  way,  and  all  combina- 
tions made  in  addition,  subtraction,  multipHcation, 
and  division.  But  the  children  memorized  much  of  it, 
not  knowing  what  it  all  meant.  It  was  to  them  a  vast, 
complicated  system,  merely  held  in  memory  and  was  to 
them  an  end  in  itself.  This  teaching  of  number  work 
in  the  early  years,  when  the  child's  mind  is  not  yet  able 
to  grasp  number  relations,  is  a  delusion  and  a  snare. 
The  number  relations  implied  in  such  over-systematiza- 
tion  are  altogether  too  abstract  and  compHcated  for 
the  child's  mind.  No  earthly  use  is  made  of  it  all,  and  it 
only  helps  to  impress  upon  the  child  the  erroneous  idea 
that  there  is  no  necessary  relation  between  the  school 
and  life  outside.  A  little  later,  when  he  grows  stronger, 
such  number  concepts  and  number  relations  come  to 
him  without  effort. 


Arithmetic:  Elementary  167 

Abstract  Number  Concepts  from  Concrete  Experience. 

—  The  concept  of  numbers  or  of  number  relations  arises 
naturally  from  experience  with  concrete  things.  The 
concept  of  number  implies  separate  objects  or  quantities, 
and  ignores  quality.  When  we  speak  of  ten  trees,  we 
do  not  care  whether  they  are  oak,  ash,  maple,  walnut, 
or  birch,  for  each  comes  under  the  category  of  trees  — 
they  are  called  trees.  If  we  speak  of  ten  men,  we 
disregard  the  qualities  and  characteristics  of  the  men. 
We  do  not  care  whether  they  are  large  or  small,  black 
or  white,  honest  or  dishonest;  we  merely  regard  them 
from  a  quantitative  or  numerical  point  of  view.  Con- 
sequently the  concept  of  number  is  quite  abstract.  We 
single  out  from  the  numerous  aspects  which  objects  have 
merely  the  phase  of  quantity  or  of  individuals  as  such, 
and  this  requires  something  of  a  stretch  of  thought. 
We  a6-stract  merely  the  number  aspect  of  things ;  but 
this  abstraction  arises  naturally  in  the  experience  of  the 
child,  from  the  time  he  is  one  or  two  years  of  age.  Con- 
sequently, the  systematic  teaching  of  number  work 
should  be  begun  with  concrete  objects.  There  is  a 
great  deal  of  number  and  arithmetic  teaching  in  which 
the  pupils  can  not  concrete^  so  to  speak,  the  general 
statements;  these  have  no  foundation  in  their  ex- 
perience ;  they  can  not  form  definite  pictures  of  the  situ- 
ations, and  hence  they  fail  to  work  the  problems.  Clear, 
definite,  and  concrete  picturing  is  absolutely  essential 
to  an  understanding  of  numbers  and  arithmetic. 

Avoid  Slavery  to  the  Concrete.  —  But  after  a  teacher 
has  presented  a  concrete  object  to  illustrate  a  concept  or 
general  principle,  the  use  of  such  object  should  not  be 


1 68  Fundamentals  in  Methods  - 

retained  too  long.  It  frequently  happens  that  con- 
crete objects  are  brought  into  the  classroom  for  illus- 
trative purposes  when  there  is  no  need  of  further  illus- 
tration. In  such  cases  the  object  may  be  a  hindrance 
rather  than  a  help,  for  if  we  are  tied  to  the  concrete,  we 
are  hampered  in  our  progress.  The  only  reason  for  pre- 
senting a  concrete  object  at  all  is  to  give  the  child  a 
clear,  vivid,  imaginative  picture  of  the  situation.  If  he 
has  this  picture,  the  further  use  of  the  object  would 
serve  no  purpose ;  it  would  only  be  in  his  way ;  it  would 
be  a  stumbhng-block  and  not  a  stepping-stone,  as  it  was 
at  jirst. 

In  the  Evolution  of  Dodd  the  unsuccessful  teacher 
described  there  had  this  reputed  mischievous  boy  doing 
all  kinds  of  little  construction  work  with  beans,  peas, 
toothpicks,  etc.  Dodd  was  too  old  for  such  trifling  play. 
Such  concrete  material  was  of  no  use  to  him  in  his  think- 
ing ;  it  did  not  stimulate  him  to  abstract  thinking  but  in 
the  opposite  direction.  It  rather  suggested  mischievous 
processes,  for  he  broke  up  the  toothpicks  and  ate  the 
beans  and  peas.  The  teacher  should  have  known  that  he 
needed  stronger  food,  and  should  not  have  attempted  to 
feed  him  with  a  spoon.  On  another  occasion  the  teacher 
had  Dodd  up  before  her  with  two  or  three  other  children 
only  half  his  height.  He  was  asked  how  many  eyes  he 
had,  how  many  ears,  and  how  many  noses!  He  refused 
to  answer.  The  teacher  then  asked  one  of  the  smaller 
children,  and  he  answered  immediately.  The  teacher 
then  said :  "  See,  Dodd,  how  this  little  boy  answers ; '' 
and  Dodd  replied,  "  Pshaw,  I  knowed  that  always !  " 
Tony,  an  Italian  boy  of  considerable  size  and  maturity, 


Arithmetic:  Elementary  169 

was  being  asked  similar  questions  by  a  teacher  who  did 
not  know  when  to  leave  off  childish  and  concrete  things. 
She  asked  him  how  many  ears  he  had ;  how  many  noses 
he  had ;  and  how  many  heads  he  had !  Tpny  could  stand 
it  no  longer,  and  replied,  ''  Do  you  tinks  I'm  a  tam  fool !  " 
Too  Much  Time  on  Arithmetic.  —  Altogether  too 
much  time  has  been  devoted  to  the  subject  of  arithmetic 
in  our  schools.  Children  have  studied  number  work 
and  arithmetic  for  eight  years.  Further  than  this, 
they  have  frequently  had  two  periods  in  arithmetic, 
one  devoted  to  what  is  called  "  mental, "  properly 
oral  arithmetic,  and  the  other  to  written  arithmetic. 
We  devote  three  years  to  geography  and  two  to  his- 
tory, while  we  give  eight  to  arithmetic,  frequently 
doubling  the  periods,  at  that.  Furthermore,  fully 
half  of  the  subject-matter  of  arithmetic  is  so  irrel- 
evant to  life,  and  indeed  so  worthless  as  a  mental  training, 
that  it  should  be  entirely  dispensed  with.  This  would 
mean  that  subjects  and  parts  of  subjects  which  the 
normal  child  of  fourteen,  on  account  of  a  lack  of  ex- 
perience (of  an  "  apperception  mass  '')>  can  not  "  con- 
crete "  and  really  grasp,  should  be  eliminated.  Nothing 
is  good  mental  training  that  is  not  clear  and  purposeful. 
If  texts  on  arithmetic  were  revised  so  as  to  eliminate  all 
of  the  worthless  and  irrelevant  matter,  and  the  advanced 
parts  of  subjects  spun  out  by  mathematicians,  it  is 
probable  that  all  of  the  number  work  and  arithmetic 
which  would  be  really  valuable  could  be  acquired  in 
four  or  at  most  in  five  years.  Here  is  a  case  where  quan- 
tity has  been  dominant  and  where  quahty  has  been 
neglected.     One    problem    in    arithmetic    that    would 


170  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

thoroly  arouse  the  class  to  a  heated  and  protracted 
discussion  would  be  worth  fifty  problems  merely  worked 
for  the  answers  or  results,  most  of  the  processes  being 
copied  from  others.  One  problem  which  is  a  type,  clearly 
understood,  casts  its  rays  in  all  directions  and  illumines  an 
extensive  territory. 

A  Revival  of  Mental  Arithmetic.  —  It  is  probable  that 
there  should  be  a  revival  of  what  is  called  mental  arith- 
metic. The  only  reason  for  written  arithmetic  at  all 
is  that  the  problem  is  so  complicated  that  it  can  not  well 
be  held  in  mind.  Any  problem  which  is  short  enough 
to  be  held  in  mind  during  the  working  should  be  worked 
orally.  Children  become  such  slaves  to  the  written  form 
that  the  simplest  operations  and  problems  must  be  put  on 
the  board  or  on  paper  before  they  can  be  solved. 

A  Tool  to  Fight  our  Environment.  —  Mathematical 
concepts  are  the  tool  by  which  every  individual  attacks 
his  material  environment,  and  number  work  and  arith- 
metic are  the  concrete  and  elementary  forms  of  general 
mathematics.  Man  could  not  adjust  himself  at  all 
to  the  physical  environment  unless  he  had  mathematical, 
or  number,  concepts.  He  must  know  distances,  the 
dimensions  of  objects,  large  and  small,  and  must  have 
true  conceptions  of  volumes  of  various  kinds  to  make 
the  first  steps  toward  success.  Otherwise  he  would  fail 
to  adjust  his  environment  to  his  needs,  and  his  life  to  its 
imperious  demands. 

Translation  of  Arabic  Signs  into  English. — In  the  teach- 
ing of  number  work  and  arithmetic  children  should  be 
taught  to  translate  arithmetical  language  of  all  kinds  into 
the  EngHsh  language.     The  signs  of  quantities,  of  rela- 


Arithmetic:  Elementary  171 

tions,  and  of  operations  are  merely  a  language,  and  what- 
ever appears  in  arithmetical  language  should  be  fre- 
quently translated  into  written  as  well  as  into  oral  speech. 
This  will  serve  as  a  good  language  exercise  and  will  corre- 
late the  subject  of  arithmetic,  to  a  reasonable  extent, 
with  that  of  language  work.  To  illustrate  the  need 
of  this,  it  may  be  said,  for  example,  that  many  teachers, 
even,  do  not  know  that  the  language  forms  for  numbers 
under  one  hundred  are  hyphenated,  and  in  the  language 
expression  for  numbers  over  one  hundred  the  hyphen 
is  omitted:  as  ninety-five,  ninety-nine;  one  hundred 
twenty-five,  and  three  hundred  fourteen. 

Neat  Figures.  —  The  teacher  should  see  to  it  from  the 
beginning  of  number  work  that  the  pupils  make  figures 
with  neatness  and  accuracy.  At  first  and  whenever 
necessary  the  teacher  should  write  a  figure  on  the  board 
and  point  out  its  characteristics,  making  it  several 
times  while  the  pupils  are  watching.  If  the  children 
have  already  formed  the  habit  of  making  figures,  as 
many  of  them  undoubtedly  have,  the  defects  in  their 
figures  should  be  pointed  out  so  that  they  would  be 
induced  to  improve  their  more  unsightly  figures.  By 
giving  some  attention  to  this  a  certain  rivalry  and  pride 
may  be  generated,  which  will  result  in  the  making  of 
neater  figures.  The  teacher  should  dwell  upon  the  pecul- 
iarities of  the  figure  and  on  its  good  points ;  the  figure 
4,  for  instance,  should  have,  at  what  might  be  called  the 
''  southwest  corner,"  an  acute  angle  and  not  a  round  turn 
or  curve.  The  figure  6  should  have  a  straight  back  and 
not  a  curved,  stooped  one.  The  figure  8  should  be  begun 
at  the  top  with  the  curve  toward  the  left  and  ended  with 


172  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

the  straight  upward  stroke,  and  should  not  be  formed, 
as  we  frequently  see  it,  in  the  other  direction. 

Teaching  the  Decimal  Conception  of  Numbers.  — 
Pupils  should  be  given  a  clear  understanding  of  the 
decimal  law  in  the  Arabic  system  of  notation.  For 
this  purpose  a  box  of  toothpicks  would  be  a  valuable 
and  cheap  investment.  It  should  be  shown  that  the 
first  figure  at  the  right  of  a  whole  number  indicates 
individual  toothpicks;  the  next  figure,  called  the  lo's 
figure,  indicates  the  number  of  bundles  of  10  each; 
the  third,  or  the  loo's  figure,  indicates  the  number  of 
still  larger  bundles  of  100  each,  or  ten  bundles  of  10 
each.  These  toothpicks  and  bundles  should  be  placed 
upon  a  table  between  horizontal  fines;  the  first  place 
or  column  at  the  right,  indicating  units;  the  next, 
tens ;  the  third,  hundreds ;  etc.  In  the  number  4444, 
each  4  derives  its  value  from  its  place  or  position ;  that 
is,  the  4  at  the  right  indicates  4  units;  the  next  4,  in 
the  tens'  place,  indicates  four  lo's  (or  40  units) ;  the 
next  4,  in  the  hundreds'  place,  indicates  four  loo's  (40 
tens,  or  400  units).  By  this  simple  concrete  plan  the 
"  why  "  of  addition  and  of  subtraction  can  be  clearly 
shown.  The  good  teacher  will  work  all  this  out  plainly 
and  concretely  so  that  the  children  will  see  the  law  in 
it  all;  and  after  they  have  seen  the  law  there  is  no 
further  need  of  the  concrete  objects.  It  is,  too,  sufficient 
to  carry  the  concrete  illustration  to  three  places;  they 
will  thus  have  been  let  into  the  law. 

Notation  and  Numeration.  —  Pupils  should  be  given 
a  clear  concept  of  what  is  known  as  notation  and  numera- 
tion.    In  the  discussion  and  explanation  of  the  decimal 


Arithmetic:   Elementary  173 

law  m  the  Arabic  system  they  should  see  that  there  are 
families,  so  to  speak,  in  numbers :  units  are  one  family, 
thousands  another,  millions  another,  and  so  on.  Then, 
within  each  family  there  are  three  figures,  read  in  the 
same  manner  in  each  family.  For  example,  we  have 
9  figures  in  the  following  number:  319,817,124.  The 
first  family  at  the  right  is  units ;  there  are  1 24  of  these ; 
the  next  family  is  thousands,  and  there  are  817  of  these ; 
the  third  family  from  the  right  is  millions,  and  there  are 
319  of  these.  There  is  not  much  need  of  going  beyond 
millions.  Billions,  trillions,  etc.,  will  be  learned  often 
thru  curiosity  and  a  desire  on  the  part  of  pupils  to 
read  larger  numbers. 

Rapidity.  —  The  '^  fundamental  operations  "  are  tools, 
and  their  skillful  and  rapid  use  should  become  a  facile 
and  accurate  habit.  Indeed,  rapidity  in  all  these  pro- 
cesses is  only  second  to  accuracy  itself.  The  nervous 
system  is  involved  in  the  fundamental  operations  quite 
as  much  as  the  mind  itself.  These  processes  should 
become  rapid  and  accurate  habitual  reactions. 

Points  in  Addition.  —  In  addition  of  numbers  it  would 
be  well  to  teach  the  practice,  which  is  very  prevalent 
in  practical  life,  of  putting  down  at  the  side  the  sum  of 
each  column.  If  an  interruption  occurs  anywhere  in 
the  addition,  the  whole  process  from  the  first  will  not, 
then,  have  to  be  gone  over  again.  One  can  start,  where 
the  interruption  occurred;    as,  for  example: 

789  20    • 

527  18 

964  22 
2280 


174  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

Pupils  should  be  taught  to  add  rapidly;  and  in  the 
process  to  give  merely  results  as  they  proceed  up  or 
down  a  column,  without  naming  the  individual  figures 
as  they  come  to  them.  The  pupils  should  also  be  taught 
to  add  two  figures  at  once  when  they  foresee  a  happy 
and  easy  combination.  The  columns  should  always  be 
written  in  symmetrical  form  and  the  parallelism  of 
strokes  or  lines  and  of  columns  should  be  preserved. 

The  Multiplication  Table.  —  The  teaching  of  the 
multiplication  table,  which  is  an  essential  tool  in  all 
arithmetical  work,  might  well  be  rested,  in  part,  upon 
memory.  To  work  out  the  whole  table  by  concrete 
objects,  such  as  toothpicks,  is  time  wasted  and  lost. 
While  memory  is  not  the  dominant  factor  anywhere 
in  mathematics,  it  is  not  to  be  entirely  ignored,  and 
there  comes  a  time  when  the  multiplication  table  should 
be  learned,  if  necessary,  in  part  by  this  means.  It  is 
repeated  and  used  as  a  tool  to  such  an  extent  that  even 
when  memorized  and  not  reasoned  out,  it  is  retained 
in  mind  by  the  law  of  repetition.  Later  years  will 
likewise  fill  it  in  with  more  thought  and  reason.  When 
the  multipHcation  table  is  being  learned,  or  when  it  has 
been  learned,  an  interesting  exercise  would  be  a  multi- 
plication contest ;  as  pupils  "  spell  down  "  so  they  might 
"  multiply  down."  Here,  as  in  all  number  work, 
rapidity  is  one  of  the  objects  to  be  attained.  Accuracy, 
of  course,  is  the  great  aim,  but  rapidity  comes  a  close 
second.  Many  pupUs  and  teachers  waste  valuable 
time ;  pupils  take  twenty  minutes  to  do  what  ought  to 
be  done  in  five.  By  awakening  interest  in  the  multi- 
pHcation table  as  a  kind  of  contest,  pupils  will  attain 


Arithmetic:   Elementary  175 

great  speed.  The  following  is  a  good  device  by  means 
of  which  the  whole  multiplication  table  could  be  gone 
thru  with  without  interruption :  39726548 

72583964 
In  the  above,  if  the  pupil  hold  the  number  4  in  mind  as 
a  multipher,  and  give  simply  the  products  with  each 
figure  above  as  a  multipHcand,  and  then  without  stop- 
ping, hold  the  number  6  in  mind  as  a  multiplier  and 
give  the  products  of  each  number  above,  and  so  on  with 
each  figure  in  the  lower  line,  by  the  time  he  will  have 
gone  thru  it  all  he  will  have  given  every  result  possible 
in  the  multipHcation  table  up  to  10.  The  order  of  the 
figures  should  be  changed  to  break  up  habit,  and  the 
teacher  might  keep  a  record  of  the  number  of  seconds 
required  by  each  pupil. 

Imagination  in  Arithmetic.  —  Pupils  should  have  clear, 
imaginative  pictures  of  the  elements  and  relations  in 
arithmetical  problems.  As  an  example  of  the  lack  of 
this,  the  practice  may  be  frequently  observed,  of  mul- 
tiplying feet  by  feet  and  getting  square  feet ;  and  then 
multiplying  square  feet  by  feet  and  getting  cubic  feet. 
Such  a  verbiage  indicates  a  great  lack  of  clear  thinking ; 
for  it  is  as  impossible  to  multiply  feet  by  feet  and  get 
square  feet  as  it  is  to  multiply  dollars  by  dollars  and 
get  square  dollars.  We  can  take  only  what  we  have  : 
the  multipHcand  indicates  what  is  to  be  taken  and  the 
multipher  simply  indicates  the  number  of  times  that  we 
are  to  take  it.  Whatever  we  start  with  we  come  out 
with.  If  we  have  oats  in  a  bin,  and  take  out  two  bushels 
at  each  of  three  different  times,  we  shall  have  taken 
out  three  (times)   two  bushels  of  oats,  and  have  just 


176 


Fundamentals  in  Methods 


what  we  started  with  —  oats.  Pupils  should  be  made 
to  see  that  a  long,  or  linear  foot  is  a  different  thing 
from  a  square  foot,  and  that  each  of  these  is  totally 
different  from  a  cubic  foot.  There  is  no  more  similarity 
between  a  linear  foot  and  a  square  foot  or  a  cubic  foot 
than  there  is  between  an  elephant  and  a  bootjack.  A 
square  foot  is  not  made  out  of  long  feet,  and  a  cubic 
foot  is  not  made  out  of  square  feet.  A  square  foot  of 
surface  may  be  produced  by  moving  the  long  foot,  but 
it  is  not  made  out  of  long  feet.  A  well  may  be  produced 
by  moving  a  shovel,  but  it  is  not  made  out  of  shovels. 
If  we  have  a  rectangle  7''  X  8''  and  wish  to  find  the 
number  of  square  inches,  we  may  divide  the  rectangle 
g"  up  into  squares  by  im- 

aginary lines  one  inch 
apart  running  each 
way.  Then  it  will  be 
seen  that  one  row  of 
such  little  squares  is 
8  square  inches;  and 
since  there  are  seven 
rows  in  the  rectangle, 
there  will  then  be  7  X  8 
square  inches,  or  56 
square  inches.  If  some  one  should  ask  where  we  got  the 
square  inches,  the  proper  answer  would  be  that  they  are 
simply  there  in  the  surface  under  consideration,  and 
that  the  location  of  them  is  merely  indicated  by  the 
lines.  The  square  inches  were  all  there  at  the  begin- 
ning ;  we  do  not  produce  them  by  multiplying  inches  by 
inches. 


a  1 

ow 

A  rithmetic :  Elemen  tary 


177 


If  we  have  a  cube  four  inches  each  way,  we  may  divide 
it  up  in  imagination  by  drawing  Hnes,  some  of  them 
parallel  to  each  other  and  others  perpendicular  to  these, 
so  as  to  indicate  the  location  of  the  Kttle  cubes  called 
"  cubic  inches  "  in  the  large  cube.  Now  in  one  "  row  " 
it  will  be  seen  that  there  are  4  cubic  inches;  there  are 
also  four  rows  in  what 
may  be  called  a  "  slab/' 
Consequently  there  will 
be  4  (not  4  inches)  times 
four  cubic  inches,  or  16 
cubic  inches,  in  one  slab ; 
then,  since  there  are  four 
slabs  in  the  cube,  there 
will  be  4  times  16  cubic 
inches,  or  64  cubic  inches, 

in  the  block.  We  start  with  cubic  inches  and  come  out 
with  cubic  inches.  We  are  not  creators  —  we  can  take 
only  what  we  have.  To  multiply  inches  by  inches  or 
feet  by  feet  is  as  impossible  as  it  would  be  to  fly  to  the 
moon  —  in  fact,  it  is  more  impossible,  for  it  is  unthink- 
able. 

The  Sign  of  Multiplication.  —  The  sign  of  multiplica- 
tion has  three  different  names :  if  the  multiplier  comes 
first,  the  sign  is  called  "  times  " ;  if  the  multipKcand 
comes  first,  the  sign  is  called  "  multipHed  by  '' ;  and  if 
it  be  between  two  fractions  it  is  called  "of.''  "  2  X 
$3  =  $6  "  is  read,  "  two  times  three  dollars  equals  six 
dollars  " ;  "  $3  X  2  =  $6  "  is  read,  ''  three  dollars  multi- 
plied hy  two  equals  six  dollars  " ;  and  ''  ^  of  f  =  f  "  is 
read  "  one  half  of  two  thirds  equals  one  third."     Such 

N 


178  Fundamentals  m  Methods 

observations  as  these  always  arouse  thought  and  stimu- 
late interest  in  the  direction  of  dear  thinking. 

The  Precedence  Signs.  —  A  discussion  of  the  pre- 
cedence of  signs  in  arithmetical  operations  is  also  an 
interesting  piece  of  knowledge  to  pupils  and  should  be 
made  clear.  It  is  somewhat  of  a  revelation  to  a  pupil 
in  arithmetical  thinking  to  see  clearly  the  relations  that 
exist  between  the  abstract  numbers  involved  in  a  merely 
indicated  compound  operation.  If  we  should  take,  for 
example,  the  following :  24  +  4X2  —  12^2=?  and 
perform  the  operations  in  the  order  indicated,  the  result 
will  be  22.  If,  however,  we  perform  the  multiplication 
and  division  first,  as  the  texts  suggest,  we  get  for  an 
answer  26.  Which,  then,  is  clear  thinking?  The  ques- 
tion may  then  be  raised  as  to  whether  the  precedence 
of  the  multipHcation  and  division  signs  is  merely  due 
to  convention  or  whether  such  precedence  is  necessarily 
inherent  in  the  operation.  Thus  if  we  concrete  the  above 
as  follows,  it  will  be  seen  that  it  is  inherently  necessary 
to  perform  the  multipHcation  and  division  first :  $24  + 
4  X  $2  -  $12  -^  2  =  $26. 

Algebra  would  also  indicate  this :  if  24  =  a,  and 
4  =  &,  and  2  =  c,  and  \2  =  d,  the  problem  would  be  as 

follows :    a  +  6c  —  -  =  ?    In  examining   the  operation 
c 

more  closely  it  will  be  seen  that  the  signs  plus  and  minus 

indicate  parts  of  a  quantity  that  are  as  yet  separated  or 

separable,  while  the  signs  of  multipHcation  and  division 

do  not  indicate  parts  of  a  quantity  between  which  such 

relation  obtains,  but  are  already  merged  or  united  in 

some  way. 


Arithmetic:  Elementary  179 

Basis  of  Cancelation.  —  Because  pupils  do  not  see  or 
understand  the  relations  indicated  in  the  foregoing  they 
will  often  perform   the  process  known  as  cancelation 

upon  the  following : =  ?     Of  course  it  should 

have  been  evident  at  once  that  since  cancelation  is 
merely  the  striking  out  of  equal  factors,  and  not  the 
elimination  of  parts,  it  can  not  be  employed  in  simplify- 
ing this  expression.  When  equal  factors  are  ehminated 
in  two  numbers,  the  ratio  is  not  changed,  but  when 
equal  parts  of  two  numbers  are  eliminated,  the  ratio  is 
changed. 

Figures  Should  Tell  the  Truth.  —  Figures  and  pro- 
cesses should  always  tell  the  truth.  Teachers  frequently 
allow  forms  which  do  not  do  this.  Take,  for  example, 
the  following  17x2—4=?  A  pupil  will  often  give 
the  following  form  of  solution :  7X2  =  14  —  4=10. 
Now,  in  the  interest  of  clear  thinking  it  should  be  under- 
stood that  all  on  one  side  of  the  sign  of  equality  must 
be  equal  to  all  on  the  other  side ;  and  while  the  pupil 
evidently  has  in  mind  the  truth  in  regard  to  the  fore- 
going, the  form  indicates  that  7  X2  =  i4  —  4  and 
that  each  of  these  is  equal  to  10,  which  is  not  true. 

While  it  may  not  be  well,  in  teaching,  to  adopt  too 
much  of  a  martinet  system  of  procedure,  it  should  be 
insisted  upon  that  forms  and  processes  should  conform 
to  the  truth;  otherwise  there  is  danger  of  vagueness, 
if  not  inaccuracy,  in  mental  pictures  and  in  results. 

The  Proper  Form  in  Multiplication.  —  In  the  teaching 
of  multipHcation  the  pupil  should  be  taught,  in  the 
interest  of  economy  and  of  neatness,  to  place  the  figures 


i8o  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

in  the  proper  position  with  relation  to  each  other.  If, 
for  instance,  we  are  multiplying  24600  by  13000,  dif- 
ferent pupils  will  place  these  digits  differently  and  in 
some  cases  produce  an  unnecessary  number  of  figures  by 
often  actually  multiplying  thru  by  the  zero.  The  fol- 
lowing is  the  correct  form : 

24600 
13000 


738 
246 


319800000 


Here,  again,  the  uprightness  and  paralleHsm  of  the  figures 
and  the  lines,  both  vertical  and  horizontal,  should  be 
insisted  upon. 

The  Form  of  Division.  —  The  question  is  often 
raised  as  to  whether  pupils  should  be  first  taught  the 
form  known  as  long  division  or  that  known  as  short 
division.  Sgmetimes  such  small  topics  are  discussed 
at  great  length,  over  and  over  again,  in  teachers'  in- 
stitutes and  elsewhere,  and  are  made  to  seem  very 
important.  Since  the  children  know  the  law  of  the 
decimal  notation,  and  since  they  also  know  the  multi- 
plication table,  it  is  difficult  to  see  why  division  should 
not  be  taught  and  practiced  in  the  form  known  as  short 
division  within  the  limits  of  the  multiplication  table. 
Then  a  person  knows  at  once  the  number  of  times  the 
divisor  is  contained  in  a  certain  part  of  the  dividend, 
and  also  knows  the  remainder;  consequently  short 
division  is  the  proper  procedure  under  such  circum- 
stances. 


Arithmetic:  Elementary  i8i 

But  where  the  divisor  is  above  lo  or  12,  and  con- 
sequently where  the  divisions  involve  numbers  outside 
of  the  ordinary  multipKcation  table,  we  resort  to  what 
is  known  as  long  division,  which  is  simply  trying  out 
how  many  times  the  divisor  is  contained,  and  then 
subtracting  to  find  the  remainder.  It  should  be  made 
plain  to  children  that  there  is  really  no  difference,  except 
the  slight  difference  in  form,  between  the  two  processes. 


CHAPTER  XV 

ARITHMETIC:  ADVANCED 

Acquired  Incidentally.  —  By  the  time  children  have 
arrived  at  the  age  when  they  should  be  introduced  to  a 
systematic  treatment  of  common  fractions  (which  will 
be  about  the  fifth  grade),  they  will  have  learned  a  great 
deal  about  many  fractions  incidentally  and  accidentally 
in  the  course  of  their  school  life  and  of  their  experiences. 
At  a  very  early  age  they  form  definite  concepts  and  clear 
pictures  of  J,  f ,  j,  f ,  etc.  They  have  divided  apples 
fractionally ;  they  know  what  half  an  apple  or  a  quarter 
of  a  pie  means ;  they  have  learned  the  meaning  of  haK 
an  inch,  half  a  foot,  half  a  mile,  etc.  Having  known  a 
quarter,  they  will  have  a  clear  understanding  of  three 
fourths,  of  two  thirds,  and  probably  of  other  fractions 
in  lowest  terms.  Indeed  they  will  have  a  fairly  good 
knowledge  of  most  of  the  common  fractions  as  appHed 
to  the  various  needs  of  everyday  Hfe. 

"  Fractions,"  not  New.  —  It  frequently  happens  that 
when  children  are  introduced  to  a  systematic  study  of 
fractions  in  the  textbook,  they  think  they  are  getting 
into  a  new  subject  and  into  a  new  field  of  thought; 
indeed  the  subject  is  often  presented  in  such  a  way  as 
to  give  good  grounds  for  so  thinking.  The  systematic 
study  of  fractions  should  be  begun,  just  as  language  and 
grammar,  where  the  child  is;   that  is,  his  apperception 

182 


Arithmetic:  Advanced  183 

mass  of  mathematical  knowledge  should  be  used  prac- 
tically for  further  procedure. 

A  Clear  Conception  of  Fractions  Important.  —  Frac- 
tions form  one  of  the  most  important  —  if  indeed,  not  the 
most  important  —  phases  of  arithmetic.  Some  one  has 
said  that  he  who  knows  fractions  knows  arithmetic. 
Consequently  it  is  essential  that  instruction  be  given 
here  with  great  clearness.  Tho  imagination  is  needed 
in  all  the  processes  of  arithmetic,  it  is  especially  valuable 
in  fractions,  and  hence  every  process  should  first  be 
illustrated  in  the  concrete.  As  soon  as  it '  becomes 
evident  that  the  why  of  the  process  is  clearly  compre- 
hended and  that  the  pupil  has  a  vivid  imaginative  pic- 
ture, the  concrete  material  should  be  dispensed  with. 
While  it  is  essential  to  begin  with  the  concrete,  it  is  just 
as  essential  not  to  be  tied  to  it.  It  might  be  permissible 
in  teaching  the  word  "  cat ''  to  a  class  of  beginners  in 
the  chart,  to  bring  in,  if  convenient,  a  real  cat,  but  it 
would  be  the  extreme  of  the  concrete,  if  not  silly  teach- 
ing, to  bring  the  cat  into  the  class  every  day.  All  pupils 
are  endowed  with  imagination,  and  this  faculty  suppHes 
a  good  substitute,  and  one  much  more  convenient  for 
practical  purposes  than  the  real  things  themselves. 
Beginnings  in  fractions  should,  however,  be  concreted. 

The  teacher  should  be  sure  that  the  children  have 
clear,  definite  pictures  of  all  the  terms  used  and  of  every 
process  and  operation,  and  know  just  why  these  take 
place.  A  pupil  should  vividly  realize  that  the  word 
denominator  indicates  the  kind  of  piece  under  con- 
sideration. A  half  is  different  in  size  from  a  third  or  a 
quarter,  and  a  pupil  should  no  more  make  a  mistake  in 


184  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

confusing  one  with  the  other  than  he  should  in  confusing 
a  man  with  a  ten-year-old  boy.  The  denominator,  or 
namer,  of  the  fraction  indicates  the  size  of  the  piece. 
The  numerator  indicates  the  number  of  such  pieces 
under  consideration.  There  is  also  another  term  which 
should  be  clearly  in  mind :  as  the  denominator  in- 
dicates the  size  of  the  piece,  the  pupil  should  have  in 
mind  the  thing  or  unit,  of  which  it  is  a  piece  —  in  other 
words,  "  the  unit  of  the  fraction,"  or  thing  which  has  been 
pieced  or  fractioned.  The  child  should  clearly  see,  once 
and  for  all,  that  when  something  has  been  fractioned, 
or  divided,  into  two  equal  pieces,  one  piece  is  called  a 
half;  if  the  same  thing  is  divided  into  three  equal  pieces, 
one  piece  is  called  a  third,  and  so  on.  If  we  divide  an 
apple  into  equal  pieces  and  take  a  certain  number  of 
them,  the  apple  is  the  unit  of  the  fraction:  it  is  the 
*'  what ''  —  the  thing,  a  part  of  which  is  indicated  by 
the  fraction.  It  is  the  concrete  object  under  considera- 
tion. If  one  should  say  f ,  it  means  nothing  until  the 
person  indicates  that  of  which  it  is  f .  If  a  person  should 
send  an  errand  boy  to  a  store  and  tell  him  to  buy  f ,  it 
would  be  meaningless;  he  would  say,  "  f  of  what?  " 
And  so  every  fraction  has  a  unit  of  which  the  expression 
under  consideration  indicates  a  part. 

Only  Like  Units  can  be  United.  —  In  whole  numbers 
it  was  very  clear  that  in  order  to  add  two  concrete  num- 
bers they  had  to  be  of  the  same  kind  or  denomination  : 
three  feet  and  two  rods  can  not  be  united  till  one  is  trans- 
formed into  units  of  the  other.  We  can  add  oats  to 
oats  and  call  it  oats;  we  can  add  wheat  to  wheat  and 
call  it  wheat;  we  can  add  bushels  to  bushels  and  call 
the  result  bushels ;  but  we  can  not  add  chairs  to  tables 


Arithnetic:  Advanced  185 

and  call  the  result  either  chairs  or  tables.  Consequently, 
in  order  to  add  two  numbers  they  must  designate  the 
same  kind  or  unit. 

Now,  in  fractions  the  denominator  indicates  the  size 
or  kind  (in  volume)  of  a  piece.  If,  then,  we  wish  to 
add  a  third  and  a  fourth,  we  have  two  things  to  be  added 
but  they  are  different  in  size,  or  kind.  It  will,  then, 
be  impossible  to  unite  them  and  call  them  either  thirds 
or  fourths.  If,  however,  we  could  change  the  form  of 
one  third  and  one  fourth  in  such  a  way  as  not  to  change 
their  value,  they  could  have  the  same  kind  of  unit  name, 
or  denominator,  and  we  could  then  add  them  together. 
The  pupils  could  be  shown  concretely  that  a  third  is 
the  same  as  four  twelfths ;  and  a  fourth,  the  same  as 
three  twelfths.  We  now  have  twelfths  as  the  "  size  of 
piece  "  to  be  added,  and  we  have  4  of  them  in  one  case 
and  3  of  them  in  another,  making  7  of  them  in  all. 

If  the  denominators  be  written  out  in  words,  and  the 
numerators  be  written  in  Arabic  figures  before  the  words, 
the  adding  of  fractions  receives  a  change  of  form  which 
makes  the  process  similar  to  the  addition  of  whole 
numbers,  and  hence  finds  a  response  in  the  pupil's  past 
knowledge  and  experience : 

4  twelfths 

3  twelfths 

7  twelfths 

14  twelfths 

This  form  is  exactly  similar  to  the  following : 

3  horses 

4  horses 
7  horses 


1 86  fundamentals  in  Methods 


"  G.  C.  D."  and  "  L.  C.  M."  —  It  is  probable  that  if 
a  pupil  has  been  studying  a  textbook  with  several 
teachers,  he  has  been  thru  a  desultory  discussion  and 
presentation  of  what  are  called  "  Greatest  Common 
Divisor  "  and  ''  Least  Common  Multiple,"  prior  to  his 
study  of  fractions.  It  may  be  that  he  did  not  know 
just  why  he  was  learning  such  things.  Indeed,  except 
in  the  field  of  fractions,  greatest  common  divisor  and 
least  common  multiple  are  of  little  value  in  everyday 
life.  But  in  fractions  he  will  come  to  a  time  and  place 
where  it  will  be  necessary,  in  order  to  add  or  subtract 
fractions,  to  reduce  them  to  the  same  denominator; 
in  other  words,  to  bring  the  fractions  to  terms  which 
will  represent  the  same  kind  of  pieces,  without  at  the 
same  time  changing  the  value  of  the  fractions.  Greatest 
common  divisor  (or  measure)  and  least  common  multiple 
should,  themselves,  be  kept  in  their  simplest  form.  They 
are  a  means,  and  not  an  end.  They  are  a  tool  and 
should  be  used  as  such.  The  teacher  should  see  to  it 
that  pupils  know  just  how,  when,  and  why  they  should 
be  used.  When  necessary  to  use  them  the  pupils  should 
have  clear  and  definite  concepts  and  pictures  of  every 
stage  in  the  problem. 

Employed  in  Fractions.  —  Frequently  fractions  must 
be  raised  to  higher  terms  in  order  to  bring  them  to  rep- 
resent the  same  kind  of  piece  so  that  they  may  be 
added  or  subtracted.  The  denominator,  or  namer, 
may  need  to  be  multipHed,  in  order  to  make  the  pieces 
smaller;  and  hence,  in  order  to  preserve  the  value  of 
the  fraction,  the  numerator  must  be  correspondingly 
raised  in  order  to  take  a  proportionately  larger  number 


Arithmetic:  Advanced  187 

of  these  smaller  pieces.  The  least  common  multiple 
will  represent  the  smallest  number  —  or  largest  piece 
—  that  may  be  used  in  the  operation.  This  will  enable 
us  to  keep  our  problem  in  its  simplest  and  lowest  terms 
and  thus  avoid  large  and  unwieldy  numbers.  It  fre- 
quently happens,  also,  that  fractions  whose  numerator 
and  denominator  are  large  numbers,  may  be  reduced  to 
lower  terms  by  dividing  each  by  the  same  number.  This 
increases  the  size  of  the  pieces  and  takes  a  correspondingly 
smaller  number  of  them.  It  is  here  that  we  need  to 
know  how  to  find  a  divisor  of  both  numerator  and  de- 
nominator in  order  not  to  be  reduced  to  guessing;  and 
to  know  how  to  find  the  greatest  divisor  in  order  to  ex- 
pedite work  by  one  division.  Hence  it  is  that  in  the 
field  of  fractions  what  are  called  the  greatest  common 
divisor  (or  measure)  and  the  least  common  multiple 
are  of  great  value. 

Terms  Should  be  Explained.  —  The  teacher  should 
here  show  the  propriety  and  aptness  of  each  word  in 
the  above  terms  —  why  "  greatest,"  why  ''  common," 
and  why  ^'  divisor,"  or  "  measure  " ;  why  "  least,"  why 
"  common,"  and  why  "  multiple."  It  will  be  found 
that  technical  terms  have  some  reason  —  usually  a 
good  reason  —  for  their  use.  If  the  pupil  can  be  made 
to  see  that  the  term  used  is  the  best  one  possible,  he 
will  thereafter  use  it  with  clearer  insight  and  more  satis- 
faction. This  is  true  in  arithmetic  as  in  every  other 
field.  Pupils  should  know  the  actual  value  and  meaning 
of  the  terms  and  words  which  they  are  using.  It  fre- 
quently happens  that  pupils  get  the  idea  that  the  least 
common   multiple    and   greatest   common   divisor    are 


1 88  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

things  which  are  an  end  and  aim  in  themselves.  They 
hardly  know  why  they  are  studying  them,  but  think 
that  perhaps  they  shall  find  out  some  time  in  the  future. 
The  teacher  and  the  children  should  approach  these 
subjects,  as  all  others,  from  the  point  of  view  of  the 
children  and  should  graft  them  upon  the  pupils'  ex- 
periences. 

"  Invert  the  Divisor."  —  Much  discussion  takes  place 
in  teachers'  institutes  and  teachers'  gatherings  generally 
over  the  why  of  inverting  the  divisor  in  the  division 
of  fractions.  It  is  a  good  subject  for  talk  and  discussion ; 
it  uses  much  time  and  is  never  ending  in  its  repetition. 
We  shall  not  here  go  into  the  reason  which  would 
probably  be  plainest  to  the  children,  for  it  is  not  our 
purpose  to  write  a  course  of  study  or  a  methodology  in 
detail.  We  merely  raise  questions  and  points  of  interest 
that  would  be  pivotal  in  the  study  of  these  subjects, 
and  consequently  the  detailed  procedure  must  be  left 
to  the  teacher.  We  would  say,  however,  that  while  the 
"  inversion  of  the  divisor,"  as  it  is  called,  can  and  should 
be  explained  to  children  by  concrete  illustrations,  there 
is  no  harm  done  if  they  depend,  for  a  time  and  in  the 
main,  upon  their  memory  for  the  retention  of  this  prin- 
ciple. It  is  one  easily  remembered  —  in  fact,  it  can  not 
be  forgotten  —  and  when  such  is  the  case  it  is  probably 
best  not  to  waste  too  much  time  in  fine  distinctions 
and  philosophic  discussion  in  regard  to  the  why's  and 
wherefore's,  but  to  leave  it  as  a  form  which  will  be  held 
in  mind,  largely  by  memory  but  partly  by  insight,  and 
which  will  be  filled  in  and  completed  in  later  years. 
The  reason  for  inverting  the  divisor  will  appear  plainer 


Arithmetic:  Advanced  189 

and  plainer  as  the  years  go  by.  Curiosity  and  the 
annoyance  at  being  *^  stumped "  by  it  will  provoke 
investigation  for  one's  self.  Time  might  possibly  be 
wasted  in  too  protracted  an  attempt  to  explain  to  chil- 
dren all  the  why's  and  wherefore's  of  every  process. 
While  the  memory  is  not  the  fundamental  faculty  in 
arithmetic,  neither  is  it  a  faculty  to  be  despised  and 
neglected,  for  it  aids  all  the  other  faculties  of  the  mind 
in  bringing  about  a  more  complete  understanding  later 
on.  The  same  thing  is  true,  as  we  said,  in  regard  to 
memorizing  to  some  extent  the  multipKcation  table. 
There  are  two  extremes  equally  to  be  avoided :  that  of 
memorizing  everything  in  arithmetic  and  that  of  memoriz- 
ing nothing. 

The  Unit  of  the  Fraction.  —  In  previous  paragraphs 
we  called  attention  to  the  importance  of  having  in  mind 
what  is  called  the  "  unit  of  the  fraction ;  "  that  is,  the 
unit,  or  thing,  which  has  been  divided,  pieced,  or  frac- 
tioned.  In  solving  problems  in  fractions  pupils  fre- 
quently lose  sight  of  the  thing  under  consideration. 
They  may  truly  be  said  not  to  know  what  they  are  talk- 
ing about.  This  may  be  made  plain  by  the  following 
problem  and  its  solution : 

Problem:  My  crop  this  year  is  f  of  my  last  year's  crop,  and  in 
both  years  I  raised  4400  bushels.     What  was  each  year's  crop? 

Solution:  To  solve  this  problem  the  pupil  should  proceed  as 
follows : 

Let  f  of  last  yearns  crop  =  last  year's  crop. 

[In  many  schools  pupils  are  taught  to  say:  "Let  |  =  last 
year's  crop." 

But  the  question,  "|  of  what?"  is  pertinent,  f  alone  is  mean- 
ingless;  it  is  similar  to  telling  the  messenger  to  go  to  the  store 


190  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

and  get  f  for  you.  Consequently,  if  a  pupil  lose  sight  of  the 
"what"  in  this  expression  he  does  not  know  what  he  is  talking 
about.] 

Then,  the  problem  says  that  this  year's  crop  was  \  of  last 
year's  crop ;  consequently, 

\  of  last  yearns  crop  =  this  yearns  crop. 

Then,  §  of  last  year's  crop  (last  year's  crop)  +  f  of  last  year's 
crop  (this  year's  crop)   =  |  of  last  year's  crop  =  both  crops. 

It  will  be  seen  that  our  unit,  last  year's  crop,  appears  in  all 
expressions.  Last  year's  crop  was  made  the  standard ;  it  is  the 
unit  of  the  fractions;  it  is  the  criterion;  it  is  the  yardstick  by 
which  we  measure  each  crop. 

We  see,  then,  that  |  of  last  yearns  crop  =  both  crops  =  4400 
bushels. 

Hence  f  of  last  year's  crop  =  4400  bushels  -;-  8. 

Hence,  f  of  last  year's  crop  =  3  X  4400  bushels  -^  8  =  1650 
bushels  (last  year's  crop). 

And  f  of  last  year's  crop  =  5  X  44cx)  bushels  -J-  8  =2750 
bushels  (this  year's  crop). 

It  will  be  seen  that  these  fulfill  all  the  conditions  of 
the  problem.  It  should  be  noted  also  that  we  never 
let  go  from  our  minds  for  an  instant  the  unit  of  the  frac- 
tion: the  "what" 

The  Question,  "  Of  What?  "  —  A  teacher  well  known 
in  the  west  was  training  his  class  in  fractions  on  such 
problems  as  the  foregoing  and  was  constantly  insisting 
upon  the  pupils'  never  losing  sight  for  a  moment  of  the 
question,  "of  what?"  When  the  pupil  would  say 
"  f  =  the  number,"  he  would  say  "  |  of  what?  "  He 
kept  up  a  running  fire  of  this  kind  for  some  weeks,  never 
allowing  the  pupil  for  an  instant  to  forget  what  he  was 
talking  about.  When  Christmas  came  the  pupils  in 
his  class  presented  him  with  a  beautiful  gold-embroidered 


Arithmetic:  Advanced  191 

banner  with  the  words  ''  Of  what?  "  on  it.  He  turned 
the  tables  on  them  by  hanging  it  on  the  wall  over  his 
desk.  After  that  when  a  pupil  would  say  '^  f  =  the 
number  "  he  would  simply  stamp  his  foot  on  the  floor 
and  point  to  the  banner  on  the  wall.  It  was  a  good 
lesson  in  fractions. 

Some  Algebra,  or  General  Arithmetic.  —  Instead  of 
using  the  phrase,  '^  last  year's  crop,"  as  the  unit  of  the 
fraction,  the  pupils  might  be  taught  to  use  a  letter  in- 
stead. This  is  the  origin  of  the  algebraic  letters  x,  y^  z. 
The  thing  under  consideration,  the  unit  of  the  fraction, 
should  be  expressed  in  every  case,  either  in  language 
or  in  representative  symbols.  The  latter  practice 
would  initiate  pupils  into  general  thinking  and  into 
algebraic  processes,  so  that  when  they  come  to  the 
subject  of  algebra  they  will  not  think,  as  many  do, 
that  it  is  an  entirely  new  and  foreign  subject. 

Old  Friends  in  New  Masks.  —  It  is  a  weakness  of 
teaching  everywhere  to  allow  pupils  to  labor  under  the 
false  impression  that  every  new  part  of  a  subject  and 
every  new  subject  is  entirely  new  and  isolated  from 
anything  that  they  have  ever  had  before.  There  is  an 
old  adage, ''  Commune  vinculum  omnibus  artibus,"  which 
means,  "  There  is  a  common  bond  among  all  the  knowl- 
edges." All  subjects  are  more  or  less  related,  and  dif- 
ferent parts  of  a  subject  are  so  essentially  similar  that  a 
so-called  new  topic  in  arithmetic  is  practically  an  old 
friend  in  a  new  mask.  There  should  be  a  reasonable 
amount  of  correlation  between  subjects,  and  a  large 
degree  of  correlation  between  parts  of  the  same  subject. 
Each  part  should  grow  out  of  the  part  preceding.     All 


192  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

new  knowledge  should  be  the  natural  sequence  of  what 
has  preceded.  If  this  be  the  case,  instead  of  being 
unable  to  remember,  a  pupil  would  be  unable  to  forget. 

The  Decimal  Plan.  —  Decimal  fractions  are  frequently 
thought  by  pupils  to  be  an  entirely  new  topic,  when  in 
reality  they  are  only  another  form  of  the  common  frac- 
tion. They  are  not  only  a  form  of  the  common  fraction, 
but  they  are  equally  a  form  of  the  whole  number.  Take 
for  example,  the  following  number :  4444.4444 ;  we  see 
here  what  is  usually  called  the  decimal  point,  separating 
the  whole  number,  or  integer,  from  the  decimal  fractional 
part.  Now,  each  figure  in  whole  numbers  takes  its 
value,  as  we  saw,  from  its  place  or  position  in  the  scheme 
of  4's  at  the  left  of  the  decimal  point.  The  first  4  at 
the  left  of  the  point  means  4  units ;  the  4  at  the  left  of 
this  is  ten  times  as  large,  and  the  4  still  at  the  left  is 
again  multiplied  by  10 ;  and  so  on  to  the  left.  This  is 
the  scheme ;  this  is  the  device ;  this  is  the  plan  of  the 
Arabic  system  of  decimal  notation. 

The  same  law  which  holds  toward  the  left  also  holds 
toward  the  right;  as  every  4  in  the  above  number  is 
ten  times  the  4  at  the  right,  so  every  4  is  one  tenth  the 
value  of  the  4  at  the  left.  Consequently  the  4  at  the 
right  of  the  decimal  point  is  only  ^15  the  value  of  the  4  at 
the  left  of  this  point,  or  .4,  ^ ;  the  second  4  at  the  right 
is  one  tenth  the  value  of  the  first  4  at  the  right,  or  .04,  y^ ; 
the  third  4  at  the  right  is  one  tenth  the  value  of  the 
second  four  at  the  right,  or  .004,  y/o  o-  Hence,  it  will  be 
seen  that  the  decimal  point  does  not  indicate  a  break 
or  a  chasm  of  any  kind ;  the  same  law  reigns  from  left 
to  right  and  from  right  to  left  unimpeded  and  unchanged ; 


A  rithmetic :  A  dvanced 


193 


it  is  the  law  of  tens  and  of  tenths.  The  following 
form  will  illustrate  the  law  of  decimals,  both  in  whole 
numbers  and  in  decimal  fractions : 


However  plain  we  may  make  this  and  however  well 
the  pupils  may  seem  to  understand  it,  they  frequently 
fail  when  they  come  to  apply  the  law  of  decimals  to  a 
problem  like  the  following :  Put  upon  the  board  the 
following  expressions,  and  ask  a  pupil  to  translate  into 
ordinary  language : 


(l) 

si  2^ 

(2) 

X»2| 

(3) 

•ooj 

(4) 

.0} 

(5) 

•J 

He  will  say  that  the  first  is  "  twelve  and  one-half  hun- 
dredths "  ;  the  second,  "  two  and  one-half  hundredths  "  ; 
the  third,  "  one-half  hundredth  " ;  the  fourth,  "  one- 
half  tenth  "  ;  the  fifth  "  one-half  "  is  a  puzzle ;  he  will 
stumble  and  balk ;   he  can  not  answer. 

He  is  likely  to  change  his  mind  and  say  that  he  was 
wrong  :   that  the  fifth  is  "  one-half  tenth  '' ;  the  fourth, 
"  one-half    hundredth "  ;     the    third,   "  one-half    thou- 
o 


194  Fundamentals  ijt  Methods 

sandth  " ;  the  second,  "  two  and  one-half  thousandths" ; 
and  the  first,  "  twelve  and  one-half  thousandths." 

But  if  you  give  him  the  following:  $.i2|  and  ask 
him  what  it  means,  he  will  have  to  say  that  it  is  ''  twelve 
and  one-half  cents."  If  his  attention  be  called  to  the 
fact  that  "  cent  "  comes  from  the  Latin  word  ''  centum," 
meaning  loo,  and  that  12  J  cents  is  the  same  as  "  twelve 
and  one-half  hundredths  "  of  a  dollar,  he  will  not  know 
what  to  think  or  say.  Altho  he  had  apparently 
seen  and  understood  the  law  of  decimal  notation,  he 
seems  now  nonplused  by  the  expression,  one  half  with 
the  decimal  point  before  it  (4)- 

The  Use  of  the  Decimal  Point.  —  We  may  then  enter 
upon  the  discussion  of  the  use  of  the  decimal  point. 
If  it  were  understood  by  all  that  the  figure  in  units'  place 
is  to  be  written  large,  we  should  have  no  need  of  a  decimal 
point,  for  the  units'  place  would  be  indicated ;  and  the 
value  of  every  figure  to  the  left  and  to  the  right  would 
be  determined  by  its  position ;  each  would  fall  into  line 
with  its  own  value  derived  from  its  position  with  respect 
to  units'  place.  We  should  then  not  need  a  decimal 
point  at  all.  The  trouble  with  this  plan,  of  course, 
would  be  that  people,  thru  negligence,  would  make 
all  the  figures  so  nearly  equal  in  size  that  there  would 
be  ground  for  interminable  disputes. 

If  we  should  write  the  figure  of  units'  place  in  red  ink 
and  all  the  other  figures  to  the  left  and  right  in  black 
ink,  there  would  be  no  need  of  a  decimal  point ;  for,  as 
before,  the  values  of  the  figures  would  be  determined 
by  their  position  with  reference  to  this  figure.  But 
this  would  be  inconvenient  also. 


Arithmetic:  Advanced  195 

If,  instead  of  a  decimal  point,  we  should  use  the  hand 
(Jll^°')  to  indicate  units'  place,  there  would  be  no  need 
of  a  decimal  point.  Or  if  we  should  put  the  point  or 
the  period  dbo'ue  the  units'  figure  in  order  to  indicate  it, 
we  could  dispense  with  it  where  it  is  now  placed ;  but 
another  sign,  that  of  the  repeating  decimal,  has  pre- 
empted this  position.  Consequently,  it  does  not  seem 
that  it  is  the  decimal  point  which  gives  value  to  a  figure 
at  all.  The  figure*  derives  its  value  from  its  position, 
or  its  place  with  reference  to  units. 

A  common  fraction  combined  with  a  decimal  does  not 
occupy  a  place  by  itself.  It  has  the  same  name  and 
position  as  the  integer  at  its  left.  Consequently  in  the 
expression,  $.12^,  the  i  means -fV  of  a  dollar;  the  2 
means  2  cents,  or  yf ^  of  a  dollar ;  the  \  following  it 
belongs  to  the  same  place,  or  position  as  the  2 ;  it 
means  one-half  cent,  or  one-half  hundredth  of  a 
dollar.  If  we  wish  to  change  the  form  of  the  .12^  so 
as  to  give  the  \  a  position  of  its  own,  we  see  that 
a  half  in  the  position  of  tenths  (where  it  is)  is 
equivalent  to  5  in  the  next  position  at  the  right.  Con- 
sequently twelve  and  one-half  hundredths  equals  .125 
thousandths,  for  one-half  hundredth  is  the  same  as  five 
thousandths.  The  puzzle,  then,  in  '\  has  been  solved. 
The  half  with  the  decimal  point  before  it  does  not  take 
its  value  from  the  decimal  point  at  aH.  Its  value  is 
determined  by  its  position,  and  its  position  is  that  of 
the  figure  normally  at  the  left  of  it,  which  would  be  units' 
place;  consequently,  one-half  with  a  decimal  point 
before  it,  if  perchance  it  be  placed  there,  is  really  one- 
half  of  a  unit.     In  other  words,  the  decimal  point  is 


196  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

useless  and  misplaced,  but  does  not  affect  the  value  of 
the  fraction  at  its  right. 

Origin  of  the  Decimal  System.  —  It  would  be  an  in- 
teresting piece  of  information  to  show  the  class  in  arith- 
metic that  the  decimal  system  had  its  origin  in  the 
fact  that  the  human  race  are  a  ten-fingered  race.  People 
were  accustomed  to  use  their  fingers  in  computation  and 
the  decimal  system  is  based  upon  ten  for  this  reason. 
Some  other  system,  if  it  had  been  inaugurated  and  all 
texts  on  arithmetic  and  all  mathematical  knowledge 
made  to  conform  to  it,  would  answer  just  as  well. 
Many  have  advocated  a  change  to  the  duodecimal 
system  as  being  more  convenient  in  many  respects; 
but  a  change  would  be  utterly  impossible.  Under  the 
duodecimal  system,  instead  of  the  figure's  increasing 
in  value  to  the  left  by  ten  it  would  increase  by  twelve, 
and  decrease,  of  course,  to  the  right,  in  the  same 
ratio. 

Beware  of  the  '*  And  "  in  Mixed  Decimals.  —  It 
would  be  a  good  language  lesson  and  would  bring  pupils 
to  a  reaUzation  of  the  necessity  of  accuracy  in  written 
language,  if  we  should  ask  them  to  put  into  English  the 
following  expressions : 

.126423 

100.026423 

126400.000023 

The  importance  of  the  and  in  mixed  decimals  will 
be  seen  in  the  above.  The  careless  use  of  and  might 
make  the  difference  between  twelve  cents  and  a  quarter 
of  a  million  dollars,  if  it  were  left  to  the  usual  careless 
reader  of  such  expressions. 


Arithmetic:  Advanced  197 

When  the  problem  is  one  of  whole  numbers  only  and  has 
no  relation  to  decimal  fractions,  the  insertion  of  an  and  is 
not  a  criminal  offense,  arithmetically  speaking,  for  then 
there  is  no  ambiguity  in  regard  to  it.  But  when  we  come 
to  whole  numbers  and  decimals  combined,  an  and  may 
play  havoc.  Consequently  children  should  be  alert  in 
regard  to  it  and  be  taught  to  act  accordingly. 

Imagination  in  Arithmetic.  —  Everywhere  in  arith- 
metic there  is  great  room  for  the  play  of  the  imaging 
power  ;'in  fact,  no  person  can  be  proficient  in  mathematics 
unless  he  has  a  reasonably  lively  imagination.  As  we 
said  in  another  place,  the  reason  why  children  as  a  rule 
do  not  get  their  problems  and  their  lessons  is  that  they 
can  not  picture  the  situation.  The  following  are  a  few 
samples  taken  at  random  to  illustrate  imagination  in 
arithmetic : 

(i)  The  Area  of  a  Circle.  —  To  give  pupils  a  clear 
picture  of  how  to  find  the  area  of  a  circle  it  would  be 
well  to  take  special  pains  wfth  the  first  concrete  illus- 
tration. An  accurate  circle  should  be  made  out  of 
paper.  This  should  be  divided  minutely  into  sectors. 
These  should  be  cut  almost  thru  to  the  circumference 
so  that  the  circle  could  be  opened  up  and  laid  out  length- 
wise, upon  its  back,  with  the  numerous  sector  points  stand- 
ing straight  up.  If,  now,  we  take  a  half  of  this  circle, 
containing  just  half  the  number  of  sectors,  and  turn  this 
half  over  upon  the  other  so  that  the  sectors  will  mutually 
fit  and  fill  all  the  spaces,  we  shall  have  a  perfect  rec- 
tangle whose  length  will  be  one-half  the  circumference  and 
whose  height  will  be  equal  to  the  radius  of  the  circle. 
The  pupils  can  very  plainly  see,  then,  that  the  area  of 


198 


Fundamentals  in  Methods 


the  circle  may  be  found  by  multiplying  half  of  the  circum- 
ference by  the  radius.    The  following  is  an  illustration : 


mmuiuiimiiuiiii 


The  Circumference 


l/o  Circumference 


(2)  The  Pythagorean  Theorem. — That  the  square  on  the 
hypothenuse  is  equal  to  the  squares  on  the  other  two  sides 
can  be  proven  in  arithmetic  by  a  visual  illustration  and 
demonstration  which  are  simple  and  conclusive. 


Arithmetic:  Advanced  199 

First,  have  a  pupil  draw  a  square  (i,  2,  3,  4)  upon  the 
board.  This  is  the  beginning,  and  we  construct  the  proof 
as  we  proceed.  Then  have  him  place  a  point  at  equal 
distances  from  each  corner  going  around  in  the  same 
direction.  Connect  these  four  points  and  we  have  an 
inscribed  square.  Then  draw  two  lines  {ap  and  oh) 
perpendicular  to  each  other  as  indicated  in  the  figure, 
and  we  have  a  right-angled  triangle,  a,  6,  c,  plainly 
visible.  We  also  see  that  the  inscribed  square,  spoken 
of  above,  is  a  square  on  its  hypothenuse  {ah)  —  turned 
backward  rather  than  forward.  We  also  see  that  there 
are  four  equal  triangles,  w^  oc,y,z\  we  also  see  that  there 
are  two  equal  rectangles,  mn  and  op.  It  is  also  evident 
that  each  triangle  is  half  a  rectangle  or,  in  other  words, 
that  each  rectangle  is  equal  to  two  of  the  triangles; 
consequently  the  two  rectangles  are  equal  to  the  four 
triangles. 

Now,  if  we  take  from  the  original  square  the  four 
triangles,  we  have  left  the  square  on  the  hypothenuse ; 
and  if  we  take  from  the  original  square  the  two  rec- 
tangles (which  are  the  same  as  the  four  triangles),  we 
have  left  two  squares,  one  on  each  of  the  other  two 
sides  of  the  triangle  {ahc) ;  consequently  the  square 
on  the  hypothenuse  is  equal  to  the  sum  of  the  squares 
on  the  other  two  sides ;  for  if  equals  (4  A  's  =  2  □  's) 
be  subtracted  from  equals,  the  remainders  (square  on 
hypothenuse  and  squares  on  the  other  two  sides)  must 
be  equal. 

(3)  A  Lumber  Problem.  —  As  another  example  of  a 
situation  where  the  imagination  is  of  vital  importance, 
let  us  take  a  simple  problem  in  lumber  measurement: 


200  Fundamentals  m  Methods 

If  we  have  a  stick  of  sawed  timber  4''  X  6''  and  10' 
long,  and  should  ask  a  pupil  how  many  feet  of  lumber 
there  are  in  it,  his  working  it  successfully  will  depend 
upon  his  abiHty  to  picture  it  in  mind.  He  must  first, 
of  course,  have  a  clear  picture  of  a  "  board  foot,"  or  a 
*'  foot  of  lumber."  This  means  a  board  one  foot  square 
and  one  inch  thick.  This  is  the  unit,  the  criterion, 
the  standard  in  thinking  lumber.  If  the  pupil  has  not 
this  in  mind,  he  is  lost  everywhere.  Such  a  piece  of 
lumber  should  be  in  the  schoolroom  among  other  con- 
crete specimens.  Now,  in  the  solution  of  this  problem 
he  will  have  to  see  that  this  stick  might  be  sawed  into 
6  boards  4''  wide  or  4  boards  (i"  wide ;  it  does  not  make 
any  difference  which.  Suppose  it  be  sawed  into  boards 
4"  wide;  we  shall  have  6  of  these.  If  these  6  boards, 
each  4''  wide,  were  placed  edge  to  edge,  they  would 
make  a  floor  24''  wide.  This  is  why  the  rule  says  to 
multiply  dimensions  in  inches  together.  But  the  stick 
is  10'  long ;  consequently,  the  number  of  ''  board  feet," 
or  the  number  of  ''  feet  of  lumber,"  would  be  10  X  2 
board  feet,  or  20  feet  of  lumber  in  all.  If  a  pupil  is 
able  to  solve  a  few  such  problems  as  this  and  shows 
proficiency  in  manipulating  the  material  and  also  in 
imaging  the  situation,  he  can  solve  practically  any 
problem  in  lumber  measure.  The  pupil  should  picture 
the  above  situation  on  the  blackboard. 

(4)  The  Bushel.  —  We  find  in  the  arithmetics  that  a 
bushel  contains  2150.42  cubic  inches.  Pupils  take  this 
for  granted  and  seldom  know  whence  it  comes.  It 
would  be  interesting  and  really  valuable  from  the  stand- 
point of  clear  thinking  and  clear  picturing  for  the  class 


Arithmetic:  Advanced  20 1 

to  know  that  the  original  Winchester  bushel  was  a 
bronze  or  copper  circular  measure  exactly  18^  inches  in 
diameter  and  8  inches  deep.  Being  able  to  figure  out 
the  area  of  the  circle,  the  pupil  can  compute  for  himself 
the  solid  contents  of  such  a  bushel:  he  will  find  that 
the  result  is  2150.42  cubic  inches.  Again,  the  pupil 
should  be  required  to  draw  a  picture  of  this  measure. 

(5)  The  Gallon.  —  The  same  may  be  said  in  regard  to 
the  gallon.  The  arithmetic  says  that  it  contains  231 
cubic  inches.  It  will  here  be  of  interest  to  the  pupil  to 
learn  that  the  original  gallon  was  a  rectangular  cubical 
vessel  II  inches  long,  7  inches  wide,  and  3  inches  deep. 
The  British  government  had  such  a  standard  measure 
constructed  and  called  it  a  gallon.  This  will  give  a 
content  of  231  cubic  inches.     Draw  the  picture. 

(6)  Ambiguous  Terms.  —  Pupils  are  often  required  to 
change  Troy  weight  to  avoirdupois,  and  mce  versa.  The 
difficulty  in  a  problem  of  this  kind  is  one  of  ambiguity 
of  the  terms  ounce  and  pound.  One  ounce,  avoirdu- 
pois, contains  only  43  7  J  grains,  while  an  ounce  of 
Troy  contains  480  grains;  hence  the  word  ounce  has 
two  meanings,  or  values.  The  pound,  avoirdupois, 
contains  7000  grains,  while  the  Troy  pound  contains 
only  5760;  hence  the  pound  is  Hkewise  ambiguous. 
Clearness  would  have  been  subserved  by  using  different 
words  altogether.  There  are  16  of  the  (smaller)  avoir- 
dupois ounces  in  an  avoirdupois  pound,  and  this  will,  of 
course,  be  more  than  the  12  Troy  ounces  in  the  Troy 
pound.  The  only  way  to  change  from  one  of  these 
weights  to  the  other  is  by  going  back  to  the  common 
ground,    the   grain.    We    should    go    back    upon    the 


202 


Fu7idamentals  in  Methods 


avoirdupois  track  beyond  the  switch  and  then  come  up 
on  the  Troy  track.  It  is  as  impossible  to  go  from  ounce 
to  ounce  or  from  pound  to  pound  as  it  would  be  for  a 
train  to  go  from  one  track  to  another  without  going 
down  to  the  common  track  beyond  the  switch.  Vivid 
illustrations  of  this  kind  will  always  serve  to  clarify 
knowledge.  Draw  the  illustrative  picture  on  the  board. 
The  following  would  be  one  view : 


grains      joz^^^Q^:- 


TroiLlne, 5^^  576O gr. 

^^I2i£^is  Line 


The  Metric  System.  —  It  is  unfortunate  for  us  in  this 
country  that  we  did  not  adopt  the  metric  system  for  all 
our  weights  and  measures  at  an  early  date.  The  mental 
habits  and  customs  of  business  and  social  life  are  now  so 
firmly  set  that  it  will  be  difficult  to  change  them.  In  the 
metric  system  the  centimeter  is  the  common  ground, 
the  source  of  the  standards  of  measure.  A  cubic  centi- 
meter of  distilled  water  is  a  gram  in  weight  and  the 
common  measure  of  translation  to  capacity  in  the  liter. 
Being  a  decimal  system,  we  may  transfer  from  one 
denomination  or  system  to  another  merely  by  moving 
the  decimal  point.  It  would  be  useless,  we  think,  to 
spend  much  time  in  America  teaching  children  the  metric 
system,  which  does  not  have  its  roots  in  practical,  every- 
day experiences  and  which,  consequently,  must  remain 
merely  theoretical  for  them.  There  would  really  be  no 
good  reason  subserved  in  having  the  children  of  the 
nation  spend  time  in  mastering  a  theoretical  system 


Arithmetic:  Advanced  203 

that  has  no  practical  application  in  the  life  of  most  of 
them.  When  they  come  later  to  the  laboratories  as 
students  they  will  be  able  to  learn  the  metric  system  in 
a  few  days. 

The  Commercial  Part  of  Arithmetic.  —  In  the  whole 
subject  of  commercial  arithmetic  pupils  are  usually 
very  much  at  sea.  Under  poor  teaching  they  often 
remain  under  the  impression  that  percentage  is  an 
entirely  new  subject-matter.  It  is  not  correlated  with 
decimals  or  with  common  fractions  and  the  pupils  do 
not  suspect  their  fundamental  identity.  It  should  be 
clearly  shown  to  children  that  common  fractions,  dec- 
imals, and  percentage  are  only  three  forms  of  the  same 
process,  and  of  the  same  kind  of  mental  picturing. 
Pupils  should  be  taught  and  required  to  change  from 
one  of  these  forms  to  the  other  ad  libitum.  A  common 
fraction  should  be  put  into  an  equivalent  decimal  and 
then  into  its  equivalent  percentage  form,  and  vice  versa. 
Pupils  should  be  taught  to  give  the  answer  in  the  form 
required,  but  usually  should  be  allowed  to  work  the 
problems  in  the  form  which  seems  best  and  plainest  to 
them.  Interest  is  merely  fractions,  decimals,  or  per- 
centage appHed  to  money  matters :  it  means  a 
certain  fraction,  part,  or  percentage  of  the  whole  amount 
lent  or  borrowed,  allowed  for  its  use.  It  does  not  differ 
at  all,  except  in  mere  form,  from  a  fractional  part  of 
anything  else.  Undoubtedly  the  reason  why  pupils 
do  not  seem  as  interested  or  as  proficient  in  percentage 
or  interest,  or  often  in  decimals  as  they  are  in  ordinary 
common  fractions,  is  that  the  former  are  becoming  more 
and   more   remote   from   their  actual,   everyday  expe- 


204  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

rience.     In  other  words,  they  are  proceeding  outward 
to  a  field  which  is  becoming  more  abstract  for  them. 

Alhed  to  percentage  and  interest  are  such  subjects  as 
discounts,  stocks  and  bonds,  partial  payments,  etc. 
Much  of  such  matter  should  be  eliminated  from  texts 
altogether.  The  older  texts  used  to  treat  at  length  of 
what  they  called  true  discount  and  hank  discount. 
Such  distinctions  merely  confuse.  Whether  justly  or 
unjustly,  such  distinctions  do  not  exist  in  prac- 
tice. It  should  be  shown,  of  course,  just  what  dis- 
counting a  note  means  and  how  it  is  done  in  a  bank. 
Work  should  not  be  piled  upon  work  and  problem  upon 
problem  in  the  working  of  discount  merely  for  the 
practice;  like  merely  formal  activities  in  other  fields, 
it  then  becomes  an  end  instead  of  a  means.  When 
pupils  grow  more  mature  and  when  they  have  some 
experience  in  giving  or  taking,  in  buying  or  selhng  a 
note,  they  will  learn  more  fully  and  clearly  just  what 
interest  and  discount  mean.  The  same  is  true  of  stocks 
and  bonds :  children  in  the  eighth  grade  do  not  know 
and  can  not  possibly  realize  just  what  is  meant  by  these. 
It  requires  more  age,  maturity,  and  experience,  and 
when  these  come  it  will  become  evident  to  them  that  the 
buying  or  selling  of  stocks  and  bonds  does  not  differ 
very  much  from  the  buying  or  selling  of  dry  goods, 
groceries,  or  horses.  It  is  because  children  do  not 
realize  what  all  of  these  transactions  are  that  they  be- 
come confused  and  disHke  the  whole  subject  of  com- 
mercial arithmetic.  It  is  vague  and  unintelligible  to 
boys  and  girls  of  thirteen  or  fourteen  years  of  age.  Most 
of  it  should  be   eliminated  from  textbooks  altogether. 


Arithmetic:  Advanced  205 

The  same  is  true  of  what  is  called  Partial  Payments. 
In  the  old  books  problems  used  to  be  put  in  which  had 
to  be  solved  according  to  various  Rules  by  boys  and 
girls  in  every  western  state :  the  Vermont  Rule,  the 
Connecticut  Rule,  the  U.  S.  Rule,  etc.  Just  think 
of  compelHng  little  boys  and  girls  in  Wisconsin, 
Minnesota,  Iowa,  or  the  Dakotas  to  spend  days,  weeks, 
and  months  solving  problems  by  the  Vermont  or  Con- 
necticut rule  ! 

Ratio  and  Proportion.  —  Ratio  and  proportion  are 
really  worthy  subjects  of  study.  The  idea  of  ratio  is 
most  valuable  and  should  be  concretely  and  carefully 
taught.  There  are  many  quite  lengthy  problems  also 
which  can  be  solved  very  easily  by  proportion,  which 
would  require  a  long  and  tedious  operation  by  means 
of  detailed  analysis.  There  is  no  method  of  solving 
such  problems  in  proportion  better  than  that  which 
may  be  called  the  method  of  cause  and  efect.  In 
the  author's  experience  it  seems  clear  that  children 
between  twelve  and  fourteen  years  of  age  may  be  en- 
abled in  a  short  time  by  careful  cultivation  to  pick 
out  what  is  cause  and  what  is  effect  in  a  problem.  This 
may  require  a  slow  building  up  of  the  sensing  of  what 
is  causative  and  what  is  effected  by  such  cause.  If, 
then,  children  can  select  in  a  certain  problem  and  situa- 
tion the  causes  and  effects,  they  may  then  put  them 
down  in  the  following  form : 

ist  causes    :    their  effects   : :  2nd  causes   :  their  effects 

Rule :  The  product  of  the  extremes  is  always  equal  to 
the  product  of  the  means, 


2o6  fundamentals  in  Methods 

The  unknown  term,  or  the  required  result,  may  then 
be  easily  secured.  Here  is  another  instance  where  it 
would  be  well  to  depend  largely  upon  memory  and  the 
rule  as  stated  above;  otherwise,  it  will  require  a  long, 
tedious  process  of  analysis  entirely  beyond  the  compre- 
hension of  childhood.  If  children  can  once  sense  the 
cause  and  effect,  they  will  see  the  complete  reasons 
for  the  processes  later,  and  their  understanding  of  the 
whole  will  grow  with  their  growth  and  strengthen  with 
their  strength.  In  fact,  it  seems  to  the  author  that  the 
only  desirable  result  attained  by  problems  in  compound 
proportion  is  the  ability  to  sense  cause  and  effect. 
Because  ratio  and  proportion  are  here  mentioned  as  a 
somewhat  pivotal  topic  for  the  teaching  of  cause  and 
effect,  and  hence  true  thinking,  it  should  not  be  inferred 
that  the  subject  should  be  long  drawn  out.  The  end  is 
attained  when  the  pupils  grasp  and  use  such  causal 
processes. 

Square  and  Cube  Root.  —  It  is  probable  that  some 
attention  should  be  given,  in  the  most  concrete  way 
possible,  to  square  and  cube  root.  Here,  again,  the 
author  beheves  that  children  can  be  given  a  fairly  clear 
insight  into  the  reason  for  both  square  and  cube  root 
by  means  of  a  square  upon  the  blackboard  and  of  cube 
root  blocks.  It  is  true  that  the  memory  will  have  to 
play  a  part  here  as  it  did  in  the  multiplication  table,  in  the 
inversion  of  the  divisor  in  division  of  fractions  and  in 
proportion.  It  is  an  enviable  achievement  to  be  able 
to  extract  the  square  or  the  cube  root,  and  a  class  may 
be  worked  up  to  a  keen  desire  to  accomphsh  the  feat. 
The  teacher  should  aid  them,  in  every  way  possible,  by 


Arithmetic:  Advanced  207 

the  law  of  reason,  but  at  the  same  time  should  not 
ignore  that  extremely  useful  faculty,  the  memory.  The 
conception  of  squares  and  cubes  and  of  square  and  cube 
root  is  forced  upon  children,  especially  upon  boys,  in 
numerous  concrete  things  and  situations  in  their  ex- 
perience. Such  knowledge  would  "  keep,''  no  doubt, 
till  revealed  in  algebra  and  geometry,  but  fascinating 
situations  implying  it  occur  prior  to  high  school.  Then, 
too,  the  pupil  may  never  go  to  high  school.  Such  knowl- 
edge may  act  as  an  interesting  thought  center  for  life. 
A  short  time  on  this  might  render  better  service  than  the 
long  time  now  often  spent  with  children  on  the  intrica- 
cies of  stocks,  bonds,  discounts,  and  other  topics  that 
interest  or  serve  adults  only. 

Wake  up  Mind.  —  Thruout  the  school  life  of 
children,  interesting  practical  problems  should  be  given 
to  them  for  solution.  Sometimes  it  is  not  entirely  ob- 
jectionable to  propound  one  which  is  in  the  nature  of  a 
slight  puzzle,  or  knot.  Such  interesting  and  practical 
problems  should  be  given,  on  the  side,  as  a  sort  of  special 
flavor,  in  connection  with  their  most  closely  related 
subject.  Such  problems  as  carpeting,  shingling,  and 
stoning  a  well  would  be  interesting  to  wrestle  with  and 
could  be  found  practically  appKcable  in  the  life  of  the 
pupils.  To  clear  up  concepts  in  percentage  a  problem 
like  the  following  would  be  valuable :  ^'  If  a  milkman 
should  put  one  gill  of  water  in  his  quart  measure,  what 
percentage  of  fraudulent  profit  is  he  making?  "  This 
would  raise  quite  a  discussion  as  to  whether  the  proper 
answer  is  one  seventh  or  one  eighth.  Each  side  would 
be  required  to  defend  themselves  against  all  objections 


2o8  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

and  to  give  reasons  for  their  faith.  Problems  Hke  the 
foregoing  would  be  centers  of  thought,  both  in  school 
and  for  people  in  the  neighborhood.  A  single  problem 
that  will  arouse  much  discussion  is  preferable  to  a  vast 
number  that  will  eUcit  but  Httle  thought. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

GEOGRAPHY 

Purpose  of  the  Study.  —  The  purpose  of  a  knowledge 
of  geography  is  to  make  one  familiar  with  the  world  in 
which  he  lives,  and  somewhat  at  home,  mentally,  in 
important  world  situations.  Geography  means  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  earth.  This  knowledge  is  a  substitute  for  the 
first-hand  experience  got  by  travel,  and  is  to  the  latter  as 
a  picture  is  to  the  original.  Every  one  desires  and  needs 
this  knowledge  and  experience,  even  if  second-hand  and 
merely  representative,  of  the  world  around  him.  Every 
person,  in  order  to  have  what  is  called  an  education,  must 
have  made  the  world  his  own  in  a  true  sense.  By  imagina- 
tion each  of  us  may  have  this  second-hand  but  never- 
theless indispensable  knowledge  in  regard  to  situations 
and  peoples  on  the  earth ;  and  for  most  of  us  this  is  the 
only  kind  of  geographical  experience  possible.  If  one 
had  the  time  and  means  at  his  disposal,  the  best  way  to 
learn  geography  would  be  by  travel;  but  this  is  not 
possible  to  any  great  extent  even  for  the  few  who  have 
both  means  and  leisure. 

First  Knowledge  of  Geography  Incidental  and  Corre- 
lated. —  For  the  first  few  years  of  a  child's  Hfe  and 
schooling,  geographical  knowledge  comes,  like  many 
other  things,  incidentally  and  accidentally.  During 
the  first  years  of  our  school  Kfe  many  fields  of  knowledge 
are  mixed  and  mingled.  Geography  is  wrapped  up 
p  209 


2IO  Fundamentals  i7i  Methods 

with  reading,  language  work,  spelling,  writing,  and 
our  total  experience.  Our  consciousness,  or  mind,  has 
been  geographized  to  a  certain  extent;  that  is,  our 
bundle  of  experiences  which  we  have  acquired  and 
which  really  has  become  ourselves  has  become  colored, 
or  tinged,  geographically.  All  persons,  before  they 
have  begun  the  systematic  study  of  geography  from  the 
textbook,  have  become  more  or  less  cosmopolitanized. 
During  the  years  from  babyhood  up  to  the  fifth  grade 
in  school,  children  have  asked  all  manner  of  questions 
in  regard  to  the  world  and  the  peoples  inhabiting  it. 
Children  have  acquired  a  more  or  less  definite  concep- 
tion of  the  surface  of  the  earth  and  its  relations  to  man- 
kind. This  is  the  way  in  which  geography  is  acquired 
during  these  early  years.  It  is  the  only  way  in  which 
such  knowledge  should  be  imparted  during  the  first 
few  years  in  school.  There  should  be  no  definite  period 
each  day  in  the  early  years  for  the  teaching  of  geography. 
It  is  sometimes  thought  that  unless  the  subject-matter 
is  taught  by  system  and  by  textbooks  it  is  not  being 
taught  at  all.  But  this  idea  is  a  mistake :  the  human 
mind  is  hungry  and  thirsty  for  knowledge  during  all 
its  waking  hours.  A  child  is  extremely  inquisitive,  and 
knowledge  of  every  kind,  geographical  included,  is  being 
constantly  absorbed  and  systematized.  Consequently, 
when  a  systematic  study  of  geography  is  begun  in  about 
the  fifth  grade,  the  child  has  an  apperceptive  mass  by 
means  of  which  he  is  enabled  to  interpret  and  proceed 
more  scientifically. 

The  Systematic  Teaching  of  Geography.  —  But  there 
comes  a  time  when  this  subject  should  be  treated  more 


Geography  211 

systematically.  Geography  is  a  bundle  of  organized 
knowledge,  and  this  knowledge  can  not  be  acquired  to 
any  extent,  as  was  the  case  with  language,  in  connection 
with  other  subjects.  Language  work  was  done  in  con- 
nection with  reading,  arithmetic,  spelling,  and  in  fact, 
in  connection  with  every  subject,  for  language  is  the 
form  in  which  every  subject  is  presented.  But  geog- 
raphy can  not  be  acquired  in  this  way,  for  it  is  a  subject  by 
itself;  and  the  best  way  to  study  and  present  it  sys- 
tematically is  for  the  teacher  and  pupils,  to  have  a  good 
textbook.  Geography  is  the  representative,  in  the 
elementary  school,  of  the  whole  field  of  the  natural 
sciences,  which  are  to  be  investigated  and  studied  more 
extensively  in  later  years.  Such  an  elementary  text 
should  be  scientifically  arranged  and  should  have,  in  a 
high  degree,  the  quality  of  interest.  For  this  reason 
only  the  important  things  should  be  treated  end  these 
only  in  an  elementary  way.  This  elementary  textbook 
could  well  be  completed  in  one  year,  or  in  the  fifth 
grade. 
The  pupil  should  then  return  to  the  subject,  in  a 
ind  of  spiral  manner,  by  means  of  a  more  comprehen- 
ive  text  during  the  sixth  and  seventh  grades.  The 
>upils  would  then  make  a  deeper,  more  intensive,  and 
Lore  extensive  study  of  geography.     In  connection  with 

|the  textbooks  supplementary  readers  should  be  used 
ind  books  of  travel  of  various  kinds  should  be  read 

fand  narrated.  During  these  three  years  the  pupils 
dll  have  secured  such  a  knowledge  of  geography  as 
dll  make   them  feel   somewhat  at  home  mentally  in 

fregard  to  the  surface  of  the  earth  and  its  relations  to 


212  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

mankind.  The  pupils  should  have,  after  these  three 
years  of  study  a  reasonably  easy  mind  in  this  subject. 

As  we  are  assuming  that  a  good  textbook  is  to  be 
used  as  a  foundation  for  the  systematic  teaching  of 
geography,  it  is  not  our  purpose  in  this  discussion  to 
give  a  detailed  outline  of  either  subject-matter  or  pro- 
cedure. We  merely  aim  to  bring  to  mind  certain  in- 
teresting features  of  geographical  study  that  should 
not  be  forgot.  These  should  be  attended  to  at  the 
right  time  and  in  the  right  place.  We  merely  indicate 
dangerous  places  and  open  switches  where  pupils  and 
teachers  may  become  sidetracked.  Our  paragraphs 
are  intended  merely  as  fingerboards  indicating  the  best 
road  to  the  true  geographical  destination  and  possibly 
some  side  paths  that  might  lead  astray. 

The  Proper  Procedure.  —  Some  one  has  said,  para- 
phrasing the  maxim  on  charity,  that  geography  should 
begin  at  home;  but  maxims  are  frequently  only  half 
truths,  and  while  the  teaching  of  geography  should 
begin  at  home,  it  should  not  extend  outward  consecutively 
from  the  home  to  the  earth  as  a  whole.  What  is  really 
meant  by  beginning  this  study  at  home  is  that  the  child 
should  be  somewhat  familiarized  with  the  home  sur- 
roundings first;  that  is,  the  larger  features  of  these 
surroundings  should  first  be  noted.  It  would  be  a 
mistake,  however,  to  study  these  home  surroundings 
intensively  before  going  outward  extensively  to  other 
geographical  fields.  In  fact,  it  would  Ke  a  mistake  to 
proceed,  in  any  intensive  way,  from  the  study  of  the 
schoolhouse  and  grounds  to  a  study  of  the  township, 
the  county,  the  state,  and  then  of  the  nation,  before 


Geography  2 1 3 

starting  at  the  other  end  and  securing  a  clear  concep- 
tion of  the  world  as  a  whole.  What  is  nearest  to  us  is 
not  always  clearest  to  us;  what  is  nearest  to  us  geo- 
graphically is  not  always  nearest  to  us  mentally.  The 
Nile  river  is  much  nearer  to  most  of  us  than  is  some 
obscure  boundary  of  our  county  or  state.  Consequently, 
it  is  not  geographical  proximity  that  determines  our 
procedure,  but  our  psychical,  or  mental,  proximity.  The 
sequence  also  is  not  geographical  alone  but  psychological 
as  well.  Consequently,  teachers  who  drive  the  maxim 
of  beginning  at  home  and  proceeding  from  there  to  an 
extreme,  run  counter  to  the  laws  of  mind.  Many 
maxims  and  rules  are  similarly  carried  to  an  extreme 
never  dreamed  of  by  those  who  first  formulated  them ; 
they  are  usually  intended  for  a  certain  situation  and 
when  appUed  outside  of  these  Kmits  they  become  false- 
hoods rather  than  truths.  Here  is  where  the  merely 
imitative,  parrot-like  teacher  is  likely  to  fail ;  and  it  is 
here  that  a  deeper  insight  into  educational  principles 
will  save  a  teacher  from  the  slavery  of  rules  and  maxims. 
Clear  Picturing.  —  In  our  discussion  on  Reading  we 
pointed  out  the  necessity  for  clear  and  definite  pictures 
in  every  subject.  We  fear  that  the  lack  of  true  imagina- 
tive pictures  is  the  cause  of  much  of  the  hazy  knowledge 
of  geography  which  we  all  possess.  It  has  never  been 
vital  and  much  of  what  we  learned  has  sHpped  away; 
most  people  remember  but  a  small  portion  of  the  geo- 
graphical knowledge  which  they  possessed  at  one  time 
or  another.  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  much  of  it  was 
unrelated  and  hence  uninteresting,  and  most  of  it  rela- 
tively unimportant.     Much  of  the  so-called  knowledge 


214  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

which  we  have  all  possessed  in  regard  to  the  thousand 
and  one  small  places  in  obscure  and  foreign  countries 
contained  nothing  vital;  there  were  no  interesting 
associations  connected  with  such  places.  The  conse- 
quence was  that  all  of  this  obscure  knowledge  fell  away 
from  us.  The  time  would  have  been  better  spent  in 
making  interesting  some  geographical  facts  of  the  first 
magnitude,  and  in  estabhshing  between  these  such 
relations  as  would  make  them  our  own  for  Hfe. 

The  Idea  of  Location.  —  Very  early  in  their  geo- 
graphical study  all  pupils  should  get  a  clear  and  dis- 
tinct picture  of  what  is  meant  by  location.  Children 
should  locate  objects  in  a  room  by  actual  experience 
and  describe  such  locations.  They  will  then  see  that 
in  order  thus  to  locate  an  object,  two  lines  must  first  be 
estabHshed.  These  two  lines  must,  it  will  be  seen,  be 
perpendicular  to  each  other.  Any  two  lines  may  be 
chosen,  as  for  example,  the  south  and  the  east  walls  of 
the  room.  If  the  location  of  a  tack  is  said  to  be  ten 
feet  from  the  south  wall  and  seven  feet  from  the  east 
wall,  it  may  easily  be  found :  its  location  is  indicated. 

The  same  is  true  in  regard  to  locating  a  place  upon 
the  surface  of  the  earth.  Geographers,  astronomers, 
navigators,  and  scientists  generally  have  decided  to 
take  two  Hnes  corresponding  to  the  walls  of  the  room ; 
namely,  the  equator  and  a  specified  line  running  north 
and  south,  called  the  meridian  of  Greenwich.  To 
locate  a  place,  geographically,  we  then  say  it  is  so  many 
degrees  north  or  south  of  the  equator  and  so  many  de- 
grees east  or  west  of  this  meridian.  This  locates  it  on 
the  globe. 


Geography  215 

The  same  process  is  seen  in  locating  a  tract  of  land 
in  what  is  called  a  survey.  Two  lines  must  first  be 
established,  a  base  line  and  a  principal  meridian.  The 
country  north  and  west  of  this  Hne,  say,  is  then 
divided  up  into  townships,  sections,  quarter  sections, 
etc.  The  tiers,  or  rows,  of  townships  running  east  and 
west  are  numbered  from  the  base  line  northward,  and 
are  designated  Town  i,  Town  2,  etc. ;  and  the  tiers 
of  townships  running  north  and  south  are  numbered 
from  the  principal  meridian  to  westward  and  are 
called  ranges.  Likewise,  the  sections,  or  square  miles, 
in  each  of  these  townships  are  numbered  in  a  certain 
order,  and  hence  any  quarter  section  of  land  can  be 
located  definitely  and  accurately  in  the  surveyed  terri- 
tory. 

Such  systems  of  locating  things  should  be  discussed 
carefully  and  minutely.  Other  methods  of  location 
should  also  be  described,  as,  for  instance,  a  river  or  a 
state  in  the  Union.  The  teacher  should  see  to  it  that 
the  pupils  have  a  very  accurate  imaginative  picture  of 
each  situation  and  should  be  sure  that  the  pupils  are 
not  deluding  themselves  with  a  half  knowledge  of  the 
subject. 

The  Idea  of  Direction.  —  The  idea  of  direction  should 
also  be  definitely  impressed.  Some  people  do  not  care, 
in  traveling,  whether  they  have  the  right  direction  in 
mind  or  not;  being  ''turned  around"  does  not  seem 
to  disconcert  them  in  the  least,  for  it  is  their  usual  con- 
dition. There  are  others  who,  by  instinct  or  by  culti- 
vation, have  acquired  a  keen  sense  of  direction  and 
are  always  uneasy  when  they  are,   so   to   speak,   lost 


2i6  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

in  regard  to  directions  in  a  strange  city.  It  would  be  a 
good  thing  to  make  children  conscious  and  sensitive  of 
direction  in  studying  geography. 

The  Globe  as  a  Whole.  —  Before  the  child  has  pro- 
ceeded outward  very  far  from  the  study  of  home  geog- 
raphy he  should  be  introduced  to  the  globe  as  a  whole. 
He  should  learn  clearly  that  the  globe,  which  is  before 
him,  represents,  or  symboHzes,  very  accurately  this 
earth  on  which  we  live.  Most  children  hear  very  early 
in  life  that  the  earth  is  round  and  they  wonder  much 
as  to  how  this  can  be.  Their  thoughts  are  probably 
crude  in  regard  to  the  whole  situation.  This  fact  should 
be  made  a  subject  of  considerable  study  and  discussion 
when  the  class  begins  what  we  have  called  the  system- 
atic study  of  geography.  A  good  globe  should  be  at 
hand,  and  this  is  preferable  to  the  large  and  expensive 
tellurians  made  to  sell,  and  on  which  unsophisticated 
school  boards  so  frequently  get  "  sold. ''  It  would  be 
well  to  have  in  addition  a  plain  blackboard  globe,  so 
that  representations  made  upon  it  might  be  erased  at 
will  and  the  globe  left  serviceable  for  other  instruc- 
tion. 

Analysis  as  well  as  Synthesis.  —  Analysis  is  one  of 
the  first  and  most  fundamental  operations  of  the  mind ; 
and  so,  instead  of  proceeding  by  synthesis  from  the 
home,  outward  to  the  geographical  study  of  the  globe 
itself,  the  other  process,  supplementary  to  it,  of  taking 
the  globe  as  a  whole  and  of  analyzing  it  should  soon 
be  begun.  It  would  be  well,  in  handling  the  globe  and 
in  giving  instruction  from  it,  always  to  place  it  in  its 
true  and  real  position;    that  is,  the  north  pole  of  the 


Geography  217 

globe  should  point  toward  the  north  star,  which  the 
children  would  then  learn  to  know  and  to  point  out. 
Even  if  they  can  not  get,  at  this  age,  a  complete  con- 
ception of  the  actual  astronomical  movements  of  the 
earth  and  its  situation  in  the  solar  system,  they  can 
be  made  to  see  just  how  the  earth  moves,  both  on  its 
axis  and  around  the  sun,  the  north  pole  remaining 
constantly  toward  the  north  star.  The  children  can 
not  help  forming  a  more  or  less  definite  conception  of 
the  earth's  situation,  for  all  manner  of  questions  will  be 
suggested  to  the  children  and  answered  and  illustrated 
by  the  teacher. 

Topics  and  Questions  on  the  Globe.  —  The  following 
topics  should  come  up  at  the  right  time  and  place  in 
connection  with  the  earth,  its  position,  and  its  move- 
ments. The  teacher  should  be  guided  in  the  kind  of 
topics  to  be  given  to  the  class  for  study  and  investiga- 
tion by  their  discussions  from  day  to  day.  The  following 
are  merely  samples  which  indicate,  if  properly  answered, 
a  real  knowledge  of  our  relations  to  the  earth  and  of  the 
earth's  relations  to  day  and  night,  the  seasons,  etc. : 

Questions 

(i)  What  is  the  shape  of  the  earth? 
Discuss  in  full  and  make  clear. 

(2)  How  do  we  know  this? 

All  the  reasons  which  the  children  can  appreciate,  brought 
forward  by  them  or  the  teacher. 

(3)  Why  does  the  earth  appear  flat? 

Here  it  can  be  shown  that  in  a  small  circle  placed  upon  the 
blackboard  an  arc  of  one  inch  is  noticeably  curved.  If  we  should 
make  the  circle  larger,  it  will  be  noticed  that  an  arc  of  one  inch  is 


2i8  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

not  so  curved;  and  if  we  make  the  circle  as  large  as  our  black- 
board will  allow,  the  arc  of  one  inch  will  appear  straight.  This 
will  indicate  the  direction  of  the  reasoning,  in  making  children 
understand  how  it  is  that,  altho  the  earth  appears  flat  or 
straight,  it  may,  in  reality,  be  curved. 
,  (4)  What  do  the  terms  up  and  down  mean  ? 

(5)  The  diameter  of  the  earth  ? 

All  information  in  regard  to  the  meaning  of  this  is  brought  out, 
even  the  etymology  of  the  word  diameter. 

(6)  The  motions  of  the  earth  and  the  effects  of  each  ? 

(7)  The  relative  position  of  the  earth  in  what  is  called  the  Solar 
System  ? 

It  would  be  well  to  represent  in  diagram  the  relative  positions 
of  the  other  planets  and  how  they  and  the  earth  move  around  the 
sun. 

(8)  If  a  person  should  stand  at  the  north  pole  and  throw  a  stone 
at  an  object  located  near  by,  in  what  direction  would  he  throw 
the  stone? 

Such  a  question  will  always  raise  discussion,  and  this  always 
leads  to  a  more  comprehensive  understanding. 

(9)  Would  right  straight  thru  the  earth  find  us  in  China  ? 

A  discussion  of  this  question  will  always  clear  up  the  pupils' 
knowledge  of  the  earth's  situation. 

(10)  Terms:  Such  topics  as  pole,  axis,  equator,  tropics,  polar 
circles,  meridians,  etc.,  should  be  discussed  so  that  the  pupils 
would  have  as  clear  pictures  of  these  as  they  have  of  any 
objects  with  which  they  are  familiar. 

It  would  guard  against  such  obscure  knowledge  as  the  boy  had 
who  said  that  the  equator  was  a  "menagerie  lion  running  around 
the  earth"! 

(11)  How  many  meridians  are  there? 

The  discussion  of  this  question  should  lead  to  a  clear  conception 
of  meridians  and  their  use. 

(12)  Why  are  the  tropics  and  the  polar  circles  placed  where  they 
are? 


Geography  219 

Here  the  question  might  be  raised  as  to  whether  or  not  these 
could  be  placed  elsewhere  if  people  should  agree  to  do  so.  Their 
location  can  be  illustrated  very  clearly  by  the  globe.  If  necessary 
this  should  be  done  at  night  when  the  lamp  may  be  lighted  to  rep- 
resent the  sun.  In  discussing  and  answering  this  question  full 
information  can  be  obtained  in  regard  to  the  width  of  the  so-called 
zones. 

(13)  Why  is  the  polar  diameter  of  the  earth  shorter  than  the 
equatorial  ? 

The  answer  to  this  will  give  the  pupils  an  interesting  piece  of 
information  in  regard  to  the  past  ages  of  the  earth.  It  will  give  a 
terrestrial  vision. 

(14)  How  far  around  the  earth  is  it  at  the  equator? 
Here  is  an  opportunity  for  correlation  with  arithmetic. 

(15)  Why  do  not  people  fall  off  the  earth? 

This  should  bring  about  much  thoughtful  interchange  of 
knowledge  and  a  clear  understanding  of  our  relation  to  the  earth. 
Here  the  terms  up  and  down  will  find  their  full  meaning. 

(16)  How  high  is  the  atmosphere? 

In  regard  to  this  it  might  be  asked  whether  the  earth  turns 
around  in  this  atmosphere  or  whether  the  atmosphere  moves  with 
the  earth,  to  see  how  pupils  think  the  situation. 

(17)  Why  is  it  cold  on  the  top  of  a  mountain? 

Much  clear  knowledge  might  be  the  result  of  this  discussion. 

(18)  Is  the  north  star  in  the  same  direction  in  the  daytime  as  it 
is  at  night  ? 

Relative  Magnitudes  of  Geographical  Facts.  —  A  dis- 
tinction should  be  made  everywhere  in  geography  be- 
tween what  might  be  called  facts  of  the  first  magnitude 
and  facts  of  lesser  magnitudes.  In  the  neglect  of  this 
hes  much  of  the  trouble  with  geography  teaching; 
usually  no  such  distinction  is  made  and  all  the  facts 
are  one  vast  jumble  of  equal  things  and  a  mere  aggre- 


220  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

gation  of  memorized  statements.  The  consequence  is 
that  we  have  a  very  uneasy  mind  in  the  subject  of 
geography. 

The  writer,  for  example,  would  not  fear  an  examina- 
tion in  arithmetic  or  grammar,  for  in  these  fields  he 
could  move  from  one  thing  to  another  by  reasoning; 
he  has  an  easy  mind  in  regard  to  these  subjects; 
he  would  be  wilHng  to  carry,  so  to  speak,  a  kind  of 
grammatical  chip  on  his  shoulder.  But  in  regard  to 
the  subject  of  geography  he  has  a  very  uneasy  mind, 
for  he  would  be  apprehensive  lest  facts  of  the  tenth 
magnitude  or  the  hundredth  magnitude  might  be  asked 
in  the  examination  and  he  would  be  graded  as  if  such 
matters  were  of  primary  importance.  In  geography 
what  is  valuable  to  one  person  may  be  of  little  value 
to  another.  It  is  often  just  as  well  to  know  where  to 
find  some  things  as  it  is  to  know  these  things  them- 
selves; and  unless  a  person  were  a  very  reasonable 
examiner,  the  examinee,  no  matter  how  well  versed  he 
were  in  the  chief  things  of  the  earth,  might  be  caught 
in  regard  to  a  geographical  location  and  situation  in 
some  foreign  country  with  which  he  has  had  no  occasion 
to  deal. 

Mere  Isolated  and  Barren  Facts.  —  For  most  children 
and  for  most  people,  geographical  places,  rivers,  etc., 
are  only  dots  or  Hues  upon  a  map.  This  must  necessarily 
be  the  case  in  regard  to  most  places  upon  the  earth, 
for  a  person  would  have  to  spend  his  whole  life  traveling 
to  have  it  otherwise.  Only  the  important  places,  rivers, 
etc.,  should  really  be  required  in  geography,  and  then 
the  most  interesting  and  important  information  in  regard 


Geography  221 

to  them  should  be  made  known.  The  place  should  be 
made  to  Ivoe  in  our  minds  and  should  not  be  left  a  mere 
dot  upon  the  map.  So  much  of  what  is  called  sailor 
geography  has  been  taught  to  children  that  all  that  is 
known  of  most  geographical  places  is  that  they  are 
located  within  a  certain  territory.  It  would  be  better 
if  ninety-nine  hundredths  of  all  such  facts  were  omitted 
and  the  other  one  hundredth  were  made  interesting  and 
essential  in  our  geographical  world  of  thought  and  dis- 
course. Cases  have  been  known  where  children  have 
thought  that  certain  states  were  naturally  colored  in  a 
certain  way  because  they  were  so  represented  on  the 
map! 

Some  Dependence  on  Memory.  —  It  is  true  that  many 
important  things  will  have  to  be  learned  by  memory  and 
thus  held  for  future  enrichment  unless  we  can  spend 
all  our  time  traveling.  This  is  true  in  every  subject 
of  study.  A  child's  memory  is  strong  and  tenacious 
and  can  hold  the  forms  of  many  important  things,  which 
will  be  filled  in  later  by  supplementary  knowledge  and 
interesting  experiences.  It  would  not  be  good  pedagogy 
to  say  that  because  a  child  can  not  learn  everything 
now  about  a  city,  therefore  the  city  should  not  be 
named  or  discussed  at  all.  We  must  not  forget  the 
power  of  a  tenacious  memory. 

Reason  in  Geography.  —  But  we  should  teach  the 
relation  of  cause  and  effect  in  geography  as  elsewhere. 
If  a  class  were  discussing  the  city  of  Minneapolis,  it 
would  not  be  sufficient  to  locate  it  in  eastern  Minnesota 
upon  the  Mississippi  river.  There  is  so  much  fruitful 
material   available   that   MinneapoHs   might  be   made 


222  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

extremely  interesting.  It  could  be  made  to  stand  out 
and  live  in  the  child's  mind.  The  question  should  be 
raised  as  to  why  Minneapolis  has  grown  so  rapidly. 
The  children  should  bring  forth  all  the  reasons  which 
occur  to  them.  Many  interesting  truths  in  regard  to 
it  would  come  out  in  the  discussion : 

MinneapoHs  is  not  on  a  navigable  stream;  conse- 
quently, navigation  would  not  be  one  of  the  reasons  for 
its  growth.  This  could  be  given  in  favor  of  the  growth 
of  St.  Paul,  but  it  certainly  can  not  be  given  for  Minne- 
apolis. The  class  would  have  to  cast  about  for  other 
reasons. 

Some  one  might  mention  the  fact  that  the  State 
University  is  located  there.  This  would  certainly  be 
one  reason,  for  it  brings  to  the  city  thousands  of  students 
every  year  who  spend  hundreds  of  thousands  if  not 
millions  of  dollars  in  that  city.  An  educational  institu- 
tion like  the  State  University  adds  to  the  city,  financially, 
socially,  intellectually,  and  in  every  other  way,  and 
makes  it  a  desirable  place  to  hve.  Parents  move  there 
in  order  to  have  their  sons  and  daughters  educated. 
And  so  the  teacher  and  the  class  might  go  on  showing 
what  the  University  would  do  toward  the  growth  of 
Minneapolis. 

Some  pupil  might  mention  the  great  flour  mills  as  a 
factor  in  the  growth  of  MinneapoHs ;  and  then  the  ques- 
tion would  be  raised  as  to  why  the  flour  mills  are  located 
there.  It  would  be  noted  that  west  of  Minneapolis, 
in  Minnesota  and  in  the  Dakotas,  is  what  has  been 
called  the  ''  bread  basket  of  the  world  "  —  the  great 
wheat  fields  of  the  Northwest.     It  will  also  be  observed 


Geography  223 

that  right  in  Minneapolis  are  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony, 
furnishing  wonderful  water  power.  Discussion  would 
then  bring  forth  the  necessity  for  the  manufacture  of  a 
number  of  other  things  in  connection  with  the  manufac- 
ture of  flour,  such  as  barrels,  sacks,  tools,  machinery,  etc. 

Some  other  pupil  might  know  of  Minneapolis  as  a 
lumber  center,  and  this  could  be  related  on  the  one  hand 
with  the  Falls  (water  power)  and,  on  the  other,  with  the 
great  pine  regions  northwest  of  Minneapolis  and  acces- 
sible to  it  by  means  of  rivers  and  railroads.  It  will  be 
clearly  seen  that  such  manufacturing  establishments 
would  bring  to  Minneapohs  thousands  of  men  and  their 
families  and  thus  add  to  the  growth  and  diversity  of  the 
city. 

Then,  too,  looked  at  from  a  geographical  point  of 
view,  it  will  be  seen  that  Minneapohs  is  in  a  direct  line 
between  the  great,  fertile  Northwest,  both  in  the  United 
States  and  in  Canada  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  eastern 
centers  of  trade  and  commerce  on  the  other. 

Thus  the  discussion  might  go  on  until  Minneapolis 
would  be  the  object  of  much  interest.  It  would,  too,  be 
the  center  of  a  system  of  knowledge  which  has  been 
correlated  with  it. 

Map  Drawing.  —  The  pupils  should  be  taught  to  draw 
maps  in  the  right  way.  By  the  old  method  pupils 
were  taught  to  put  upon  the  blackboard  a  form,  or 
framework,  of  construction  Hues,  or  a  system  of  measure- 
ments which  had  to  be  first  learned  by  the  pupil;  and 
after  this  had  been  carefully  drawn  the  pupil  was  taught 
to  draw  the  map  upon  it.  When  the  writer  was  a  boy 
he  put  upon  the  board  in  this  way  a  map  of  South 


224  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

America  which  took  him  some  two  or  three  weeks  to 
complete.  It  was  left  standing  during  the  term,  either 
as  an  example  or  as  a  warning  —  he  has  never  been  able 
to  figure  out  which.  This  was  a  great  waste  of  time, 
without  any  useful  result.  When  a  map  is  drawn  in  this 
way  the  form  of  the  map  and  most  of  its  parts  depend 
upon  the  retention  in  memory  of  the  measurements  of 
the  framework,  and  when  these  numerous  measurements 
are  forgotten  (as  they  surely  will  be)  the  map  will  dis- 
appear also. 

Now,  the  sole  purpose  of  putting  a  map  upon  a  board 
is  to  present  to  somebody  else,  with  reasonable  accuracy 
and  in  a  short  time,  a  representation  of  the  country  or 
district  under  consideration.  A  pupil  should  be  able 
to  do  this  in  a  few  minutes  or  even  in  a  few  seconds, 
and  as  soon  as  the  purpose  has  been  attained  the  map 
might  well  be  erased. 

A  child,  too,  will  learn  the  form  of  a  section  of  country, 
such  as  a  state  or  a  county,  in  a  very  short  time  —  as 
quickly  as  he  will  learn  the  form  of  a  word  or  a  face. 
There  is  no  reason  why  a  framework  of  construction 
lines  should  first  be  drawn.  If  we  put  a  picture  of  an 
object  upon  the  board,  any  person  familiar  with  it  can 
tell  at  once  whether  it  has  the  right  shape  or  not. 
So  it  should  be  with  the  map  of  a  state :  we  should  be 
able  to  draw  it  offhand  and  free-hand,  and  to  do  so  in  a 
short  time.  On  this  map  all  the  important  things  and 
these  only  should  be  placed,  free-hand.  Nothing  should 
be  put  on  this  map  that  can  not  be  named.  It  frequently 
happens  that  when  children  draw  a  map  and  put  in  the 
rivers,  they  indicate  all  kinds  of  little  branches  that  do 


Geography  ^25 

not  exist  at  all.  They  seem  to  think  that  they  must  fill 
out  the  picture  artistically,  as  if  it  were  the  drawing  of 
an  ideal  tree  and  did  not  make  any  difference  whether 
or  not  they  put  in  a  few  more  branches.  But  in  a 
geographical  map  everything  should  be  definite  and 
true.  It  would  be  better  to  omit  all  details  that  are 
not  necessary  and  to  put  upon  the  map  only  what  is 
under  consideration  or  what  we  wish  to  call  atten- 
tion to. 

Relative  Sizes  and  Distances.  —  The  relative  size 
of  states  or  of  countries  and  relative  distances  should 
be  carefully  noted.  We  should  not  allow  children  to 
carry  with  them  the  impression  that  New  York  is  about 
as  big  as  Texas.  In  making  maps,  until  the  conception 
is  clear,  a  small  state  should  be  drawn  upon  a  small 
scale  and  a  large  state  upon  a  large  scale ;  otherwise, 
distorted  pictures  will  remain  in  the  mind.  The  same  is 
true  of  distances.  It  is  farther  from  Chicago  to  New 
York  than  it  is  from  London  to  Rome,  and  yet  few  of  us 
think  it  in  that  way.  It  is  farther  from  New  Orleans  to 
New  York  than  from  London  to  Jerusalem;  and  yet 
thousands  of  people  pass  every  day  from  New  York  to 
New  Orleans,  while  very  few  indeed  go  back  and  forth 
between  London  and  Jersualem.  If  the  state  of  Rhode 
Island  were  placed  in  the  center  of  Cass  county.  North 
Dakota,  there  would  still  be  a  walk  six  miles  wide  all 
around  it.  About  two  hundred  and  fifty  states  of  the 
size  of  Rhode  Island  could  be  carved  out  of  Texas  alone. 
I  mention  a  few  of  these  simple  facts  to  indicate  that 
relative  size  should  be  called  to  mind  continually  in 
teaching  geography. 


226  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

Other  Helps.  —  In  order  to  make  mental  pictures 
vivid  the  school  should  have  a  good  supply  of  books  of 
travel,  of  stereopticon  sHdes,  and  of  apparatus  of  different 
kinds.  Knowledge  at  first  hand  is  the  best  kind,  but 
clear  representative  knowledge  comes  next.  The  school 
board  who  disciplined  the  teacher  because  she  took  her 
class  to  see  a  mill  near  by,  in  order  that  they  might 
have  first-hand  experience,  little  understood  the  teach- 
ing of  geography,  or  indeed,  pedagogy  or  psychology  of 
any  kind.  In  fact,  a  teacher  of  geography  should,  when- 
ever possible,  and  in  every  way  possible,  visit  all  the 
places  and  things  of  interest  in  the  surrounding  country, 
such  as  near-by  towns  and  cities,  factories,  mills,  etc. 
These  things  enrich  and  concrete  the  experience  of 
pupils ;  they  throw  interesting  sideHghts  upon  the  sub- 
ject; they  correlate  it  with  others  and  give  a  base  of 
operations  for  further  conquests  and  progress. 

An  Outline.  —  In  the  study  and  teaching  of  any  unit  of 

territory,  such  as  a  state,  some  outline  should  be  in  mind 

and  every  topic  should  be  fully  developed.  We  suggest  the 

following  as  a  sample,  which  may  be  varied  according  to 

needs : 

(i)  Position 

(a)  on  the  globe 

\b)  in  the  United  States 

(2)  Size  and  shape  (comparative  size) 

(3)  Surface  and  drainage 

(4)  Soil 

(5)  Climate 

(6)  Productions: 

(a)  vegetable 
(6)  animal 
(c)  mineral 


Geography  227 

(7)  Occupations 

(8)  People 

(9)  History  (in  short) 

(10)  Government  (in  its  principal  outline  and  function) 

(11)  Institutions 

(12)  Its  map  (free-hand  and  offhand) 

{a)  principal  rivers  and  lakes 

(6)  principal  railroads 

(c)  mountains,  and  elevations  above  sea  level 

{d)  scale 

Practical  Applications.  —  Before  pupils  drop  the  sub- 
ject of  geography  at  the  end  of  the  seventh  grade  they 
should  have  a  comprehensive  knowledge  of  where  the 
various  things  that  are  found  around  us  and  upon  our 
tables,  come  from.  The  following  is  a  short  list  of 
articles  which  should  be  associated  with  the  places 
where  they  are  found  or  produced : 

Oysters,  petroleum,  lumber,  flour,  cotton  (raw),  cotton 
(manufactured),  sugar,  coffee,  tea,  cocoa,  silk,  wines, 
leather,  tobacco,  woolen  goods,  paper,  spices,  dates, 
figs,  fruits,  linen,  furs,  coal,  iron,  gold,  silver,  musical 
instruments,  rice. 

Pupils  should  also  be  able  to  tell  in  a  fairly  accurate 
way  the  cargoes  that  ships  would  carry  between  the  great 
commercial  ports  of  the  world  and  return ;  as  for  exam- 
ple :  from  New  Orleans  to  Paris ;  from  Baltimore 
to  India ;  from  Charleston  to  Madrid ;  from  Boston  to 
Mobile;  from  Philadelphia  to  Rio  Janeiro;  from  San 
Francisco  to  Sitka;  Duluth  to  Cleveland;  Fargo  to 
Chicago;  St.  Louis  to  New  Orleans;  New  York  to 
China  or  Japan. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

HISTORY 

At  First  Wrapped  up  with  Reading.  —  As  is  the  case 
with  practically  every  subject  in  the  elementary  school 
curriculum,  history  is  at  first  and  for  several  years 
wrapped  up  with  reading  and  Hterature.  It  does  not 
emerge  as  a  separate  subject  of  study  until  probably 
the  sixth  or  seventh  grade.  Prior  to  that  time  children 
have  heard,  in  the  home  and  in  the  school,  stories  of 
discoveries  and  explorations,  anecdotes  in  regard  to  the 
lives  of  great  men,  and  numerous  incidents  in  the  history 
of  their  own  state  and  locality.  They  have  probably 
read  simple  biographies  of  people  in  miHtary  and  civil 
life  who  have  become  ideals  to  them.  In  their  reading 
books  and  in  their  choice  of  selections  to  be  read  in 
class,  they  have  come  across  innumerable  historical 
references  and  allusions  which  have  been  made  plain 
either  by  the  teacher  or  by  their  own  reading  and 
inquiry ;  and  so  history  is  usually  correlated  with  read- 
ing and  literature  for  several  years.  The  pupils  have 
been  studying  history  without  being  really  aware  of  the 
fact.  This  for  children  —  and  indeed  for  adults  —  is 
probably  the  best  method  of  education.  When  a  sub- 
ject has  been  absorbed,  so  to  speak,  slowly  and  naturally, 
it  then  becomes  a  part  of  ourselves  all  the  more  effectu- 
ally. And  so,  during  the  primary  and  intermediate 
grades  children  have  been  forming  for  themselves  an 

228 


History  229 

historical  apperceptive  mass  to  be  used  later  on  in  the 
systematic  study  of  the  subject. 

The  Beginning  and  Sequence.  —  History,  like  geog- 
raphy and,  indeed,  every  other  subject  of  study,  should, 
like  charity,  begin  at  home.  At  Iwme,  as  we  saw  in 
the  discussion  of  geography,  does  not  always  mean 
what  is  nearest  to  us  in  space,  but  rather  what  is  nearest 
to  us  mentally.  Consequently,  interest  plays  a  great 
part  in  determining  what  is  psychically  near  to  us. 
Children  in  the  United  States  naturally  begin  the  sys- 
tematic study  of  history  with  that  of  their  own  country ; 
children  in  England  begin  with  EngUsh  history;  in 
France,  with  French  history;  and  in  China,  with  the 
history  of  the  Chinese  nation.  From  the  study  of  the 
history  of  his  own  country  the  pupil  moves  outward  to 
the  history  of  those  peoples  and  nations  most  directly 
and  vitally  related  to  his  own.  The  sequence,  con- 
sequently, in  history  is  psychological  rather  than  chrono- 
logical or  logical.  If  the  latter  were  the  case,  the  proper 
way  would  be  to  begin  with  the  history  of  the  first  known 
peoples  —  with  ancient  history,  beginning  as  far  back 
as  there  are  any  records  available,  and  then  coming  on 
down  the  stream  of  time,  investigating  and  discussing 
the  various  influences  which  have  been  at  work  in  the 
world.  But  to  start  thus  would  be  to  impose  upon  a 
child  a  subject  which  is  remote  from  his  interests  and 
from  any  knowledge  that  he  now  possesses.  He  could 
not  correlate  this  ancient  history  with  his  own  experi- 
ences and  with  the  information  which  he  already  has  in 
regard  to  those  who  have  been  factors  in  the  making  of 
the  history  of  his  own  country. 


230  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

Use  a  Good  Text.  —  When  pupils  begin  the  systematic 
study  of  history,  probably  in  the  seventh  grade,  a  good 
text  should  be  chosen.  In  this  subject  a  textbook  is 
absolutely  essential,  for  the  teacher  is  not,  supposedly, 
a  speciahst  in  history.  Those  who  have  thought  out 
the  subject  and  who  have  devoted  their  lives  to  it  have 
organized  the  subject-matter  for  us,  and  it  would  be 
pedantic  to  ignore  their  experiences,  their  learning,  and 
their  labors,  and  to  attempt  to  do  again  in  our  own  small 
way  what  has  been  better  done  by  masters,  a  hundred 
times  before.  In  this  respect  the  teaching  of  history  is 
altogether  different  from  the  teaching  of  language;  for 
history,  like  geography,  is  a  systematized  bundle  of 
knowledge  which  can  not  be  acquired  in  connection  with 
other  subjects,  while  language  is  the  form  which  embodies 
every  subject-matter  and  which  should,  therefore, 
receive  its  due  share  of  attention  everywhere. 

While  history  can  never  be  completed^  an  elementary 
treatment  of  United  States  history  may  be  given  and  a 
reasonable  elementary  understanding  of  it  may  be  se- 
cured in  two  years,  with  well-chosen  material,  a  good 
textbook,  and  an  enthusiastic  and  efficient  teacher. 
Consequently,  at  the  end  of  the  eighth  grade  a  child 
should  have  a  fairly  comprehensive  grasp  of  the  history 
of  our  own  country. 

Correlation  by  Side  Excursions.  —  In  the  teaching  of 
history,  side  excursions  may  well  be  taken  into  inter- 
esting fields  of  knowledge  directly  related  to  this  subject. 
Civil  government  is  one  of  those  fields  into  which  we 
could  profitably  make  frequent  excursions  of  this  kind. 
Civics  and  history  are  so  closely  allied  that  it  is  impossible 


History  231 

to  tell  where  one  ends  and  the  other  begins.  A  teacher 
should  never  hesitate  to  tarry  by  the  wayside  in  order 
to  supplement  the  historical  knowledge  of  his  pupils 
by  information  in  cognate  fields.  This  is  always  mu- 
tually supporting  and  supplementary  to  each  subject. 
Side  lines  and  issues  always  lend  interest  and  support 
to  the  main  line  under  consideration.  The  teacher,  of 
course,  should  see  to  it  that  he  and  his  class  do  not  get 
lost  in  the  wilderness.  The  teacher  of  discretion  is 
always  able  to  tell  when  the  side  excursion  should  end 
and  when  the  return  should  be  made  to  the  main  road. 
The  habit  of  losing  the  thread  of  one's  discourse,  of  los- 
ing one's  road,  is  a  common  one  with  many  speakers, 
preachers,  and  teachers.  But,  Hke  every  good  thing, 
because  side-excursions  are  sometimes  abused  is  no 
reason  why  they  should  not  be  used  with  discretion. 
Leaving  the  highway  and  going  into  the  byways  to  note 
interesting  and  relevant  facts  is  always  indicative  of  a 
good  teacher,  and  is  in  line  with  the  natural  process  of 
education  and  growth. 

Geography,  the  Handmaid  of  History.  —  In  the  teach- 
ing of  history,  geography  should  receive  much  attention. 
It  is  the  handmaid  of  history.  The  two  should  be  closely 
correlated.  Geography  is  a  local  phase  of  social  move- 
ments, while  history  is  a  temporal  phase.  It  is  geography 
that  gives  to  historical  events  "  a  local  habitation,"  if 
not  a  name.  It  is  in  the  subject  of  history  that  the 
pupil  finds  the  study  of  geography  of  vital  and  practical 
use;  it  is  here  that  he  finds  the  geographical  tool  of 
service  to  him.  In  reading  an  account  of  a  war  or  a 
battle  or  of  The  Hague  Conference,  we  wish  to  know 


232  Pundamentals  in  Methods 

where  each  is,  on  the  map.  Consequently,  in  the  study 
of  history  a  teacher  should  see  to  it  that  pupils  have  a 
clear  and  definite  conception  of  the  country  or  the 
locaHty  connected  with  the  movement  or  event  under 
consideration.  It  too  often  happens  that  children, 
after  studying  historical  movements,  such  as  the  great 
campaigns  of  a  period,  do  not  know,  often,  with  any 
definiteness,  just  where  such  events  took  place.  In 
such  cases  geography  is  neglected;  the  pupils  form  no 
conception  of  the  topography  of  the  country  under  con- 
sideration. The  whole  situation  is  indefinite,  obscure, 
and  hazy ;  it  is  ^'  up  in  the  air  "  —  nowhere.  Such 
knowledge  is  of  httle  value.  A  few  historical  facts  or 
situations  of  the  first  magnitude,  well  and  clearly  under- 
stood in  their  principal  relations,  would  be  incompar- 
ably better  than  a  host  of  unrelated  facts,  all  left  in  this 
indefinite  condition. 

Kings  and  Wars  too  Prominent.  —  The  old-time  text- 
books in  United  States  history  were  altogether  too 
military  in  their  treatment.  In  fact,  history  from  time 
immemorial  has  been  written  from  a  mihtary  point  of 
view  or  from  that  of  court  life.  These  two  points  of 
view  have  always  been  closely  related.  Wars  have  fre- 
quently been  the  game  of  kings,  and  their  peoples  have 
been  merely  pawns  that  have  been  moved  in  different 
directions  for  the  defense  or  aggrandizement  of  thrones. 
The  writers  of  history  have  been  most  interested  in 
military  Hfe,  in  kings,  dynasties,  and  aristocracies. 
It  is  true  that,  for  all  children,  a  military  or  warlike 
aspect  of  history  is  attractive  and  interesting.  Combat 
and  struggle  appeal  to  them  and  it  is  probable  that 


History  233 

writers  of  history  have  not  only  moved  along  the  line 
of  least  resistance,  but  have,  in  a  measure,  supplied  a 
demand.  But  history  of  this  kind  is  only  a  skeleton 
form :   a  kind  of  skull  and  crossbones. 

History  not  "  a  Narrative  of  Events."  —  History  is 
often  conceived  of  as  a  narrative  of  events.  Such  a 
conception  indicates  merely  a  surface  view  of  history, 
for  an  "  event  "  is  something  that  crops  out  and  the 
narration  of  such  events  would  be  merely  the  arranging 
of  these  like  beads  upon  a  string.  In  the  pupil's  mind 
one  of  these  events  was  connected  with  another  only  in  a 
superficial  way;  there  was  no  underlying  natural  rela- 
tion, no  connecting  link,  no  mutual  causation  between 
the  two.  Such  a  grasp  and  conception  would  scarcely 
be  history  at  all;  it  is  too  superficial.  Concealed  be- 
neath are  great  social  forces  which  play  upon  one  another 
and  occasionally  come  to  the  surface  in  events.  It  is 
these  social  forces  underneath  —  the  real  life  of  the 
people  —  that  constitute  the  fundamental  subject-matter 
of  history.  All  the  great  battles  (which  are  mere  events 
in  history)  had  been  previously  fought  out,  in  a  kind 
of  way,  around  the  family  firesides  of  the  nations  in- 
volved. Humanity  is  a  great  seething  caldron  of  forces 
interplaying  upon  one  another  and  causing,  at  particular 
times  and  places,  events  to  appear  on  the  surface. 

Should  not  be  too  Philosophical.  —  While  the  old- 
time  histories  dwelt  too  much  upon  kings  and  wars, 
there  is  probably  a  danger,  in  the  newer  histories,  of 
going  too  far  in  a  philosophical  and  sociological  direction. 
Children  are  much  interested  in  spectacular  events. 
The  pugnacious  instincts  play  no  small  part   in    the 


234  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

child's  life,  and  consequently  he  is  greatly  interested 
in  contests,  struggles,  battles,  campaigns,  armies,  and 
navies.  It  is  probable  that  histories  which  go  too  far 
below  the  surface  and  discuss,  in  a  somewhat  philo- 
sophical way,  the  forces  which  play  between  the  units  of 
society,  whether  in  family,  tribe,  or  nation,  are  Hkely 
to  be  too  abstract  for  the  youthful  mind.  Some  United 
States  histories  have  appeared  which  are  so  philosophical 
and  sociological  in  their  treatment  that  children  are 
repelled  by  them.  They  are  analogous  to  Browning  as 
an  author  prescribed  for  children's  reading  in  the  fifth 
grade.  Lengthy  discussions  of  causation,  which  are 
particularly  abstract  to  the  child,  find  no  appeal  in  his 
experiences  and  are,  to  a  great  extent,  lost  upon  him. 

The  Golden  Mean.  —  The  best  method  would  be  a 
happy  combination  of  the  history  of  struggles  and 
events,  on  the  one  hand,  with  a  reasonably  elementary 
sociological  treatment,  on  the  other.  While  persons 
interested  in  kings  and  wars  have  been  the  writers  of 
our  histories  in  the  past,  it  too  frequently  happens  now 
that  our  authors  are  specialists  who  have  spent  years  on 
problems  of  research  and  on  deeper  investigations  which 
are  of  interest  only  to  those  of  similar  situations  and 
attainments.  The  research  specialist  is  likely  to  go  to 
an  extreme  in  this  direction,  as  the  military  writer  did, 
in  the  other. 

Facts  and  Principles  of  First  Magnitude.  —  As  in 
geography,  minute  details  in  history  are  not  of  much 
significance  to  the  child  of  twelve  or  fourteen  years  of 
age.  What  he  needs  is  great,  vivid  pictures  in  the  large. 
He  should  be  acquainted  during  the  two  or  three  years 


History  235 

of  his  biographical  and  historical  study,  with  the  great 
highways  in  the  history  of  his  country;  and  it  is  a 
mistake  to  attempt  to  acquaint  him  with  all  the  byways 
and  paths  leading  outward  from  these  highways.  In 
later  years,  as  his  knowledge  increases  in  this  and  in  all 
related  fields,  he  will  investigate  many  of  these  byways 
for  himself.  In  history,  as  in  other  subjects,  the  teacher 
should  carefully  distinguish  between  facts  of  the  first 
or  second  magnitude  and  those  of  the  tenth  or  fiftieth 
magnitude.  As  in  geography,  there  are  likewise  in- 
numerable facts  in  history  which,  for  a  child  of  this  age, 
it  were  better  not  to  attempt  to  learn :  it  is  sufficient  to 
know  where  to  find  such  small,  unimportant  facts. 
Teachers  often  have  their  pupils  commit  to  memory  a 
host  of  names  and  dates  without  enriching  them  in  such 
a  way  as  to  make  them  either  interesting  or  useful. 
Such  history  teaching  is  analogous  to  what  is  called 
sailor  geography  in  the  teaching  of  that  subject. 

Memorizing  History.  —  In  regard  to  the  proper  part 
which  memory  should  play  in  the  study  of  history,  two 
extremes  confront  us.  While  the  teacher  of  former  days 
went  to  one  extreme  in  the  wholesale  memorizing  of 
facts,  of  names,  and  of  dates,  without  enriching  them, 
some  teachers  of  to-day  are  adopting  the  practice  of  not 
having  children  memorize  the  names  and  dates  of  even 
the  most  important  historical  happenings.  This  is 
ignoring  the  value  of  memory.  Children  should  hold  in 
memory  many  important  forms  in  every  subject  of 
study,  which  later  life  and  experience  will  fill  in  and 
enrich.  Consequently,  all  important  events  and  all 
important  dates  should  be  memorized  as  definitely  as  the 


236  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

multiplication  table  was  in  arithmetic,  so  that  when  the 
name  of  the  event  comes  to  mind  the  date  comes  also, 
and  mce  versa.  This  is  of  untold  advantage  in  later  life. 
Every  person  should  have  well-defined  landmarks  in 
the  thought  system  of  each  subject  of  study.  These 
will  serve  as  signs  or  finger  boards  along  the  highway. 
They  will  be  to  him  the  stakes  and  monuments  by  means 
of  which  he  can  find  his  location  and  direction  at  any 
time.  To  have  no  such  centers  of  orientation,  con- 
sciously and  definitely  in  mind,  is  to  have  a  dark  his- 
torical world,  a  world  of  historical  chaos.  Even  if 
these  names  and  dates  are  not  philosophically  and 
sociologically  enriched,  they  become  centers  of  ever- 
increasing  knowledge  and  interest.  They  give  us  our 
bearing  and  our  direction  at  once  and  they  give  us  a 
feeHng  of  satisfaction  and  of  security  in  the  midst  of  a 
more  or  less  chaotic  field  which  surrounds  all  of  us. 

History  and  Patriotism.  —  History  offers  a  great 
opportunity  for  the  teaching  of  patriotism.  This,  in  its 
beginnings,  may  be  only  a  "  Hurrah  for  our  side !  " 
But  this  partisan  feeling  may  exist  whether  "  our  side  " 
be  right  or  wrong.  History  offers  a  good  opportunity, 
then,  to  teach  a  moral  patriotism.  There  are  also 
numerous  and  excellent  occasions  for  the  correlation  of 
history  with  reading  and  literature.  Many  gems  of 
poetry  and  of  prose,  breathing  the  spirit  of  true  patriot- 
ism, should  be  read  in  connection  with  the  study  of  United 
States  history.  In  the  saying,  "  Let  me  write  the 
songs  of  the  nation  and  I  care  not  who  makes  her  laws," 
there  is  much  truth,  for  the  songs  and  poems  of  a  nation 
breathe  a  people's  spirit.    And  it  is  the  spirit  of  a  people 


History  lyj 

and  not  their  particular  acts  that  is  of  most  value. 
We  would  recommend  that  pupils  in  the  history  class 
commit  to  memory  all  such  poems  as  America^  Scott's 
Love  of  Country,  Longfellow's  The  Union,  Holmes's 
Flower  of  Liberty,  and  numerous  others  like  them. 

Ideals  and  History.  —  In  the  study  of  United  States 
history  there  is  also  an  excellent  opportunity  to  imbue 
pupils'  minds  with  high  ideals.  The  study  of  great 
heroes,  both  in  military  and  civil  Hfe,  will  unconsciously 
estabUsh  wholesome  ideals  in  the  minds  of  the  children. 
This  is  of  inestimable  value,  for  it  is  a  law  of  life  to 
grow  Hke  unto  our  ideals.  The  virtues  of  chivalry,  of 
justice,  and  of  toleration  can  be  instilled  in  the  study  of 
wars  and  of  controversies.  Children  should  not  be  left 
with  the  idea  that  there  has  been  only  one  side  to  every 
one  of  our  national  quarrels,  and  that  we  have  always 
been  on  the  right  side.  The  reasons  and  arguments  for 
the  other  side  should  be  fairly  and  squarely  presented, 
so  far  as  we  can  get  them.  Pupils  should  acquire  the 
conception  and  the  feeling  of  putting  themselves  in  the 
other  person's  place  —  of  seeing  themselves  as  others  see 
them.  There  is  probably  no  greater  virtue  to  instill 
into  the  minds  of  children  than  that  of  toleration  for 
other  persons'  opinions.  People  should  be  able  to  dis- 
agree in  their  judgments  and  yet  remain  friends.  This 
is  one  of  the  great  lessons  which  history  should  teach. 
Children  should  and  can  be  made  to  realize  early  in 
Hfe  that  there  are  others.  It  will  depend,  however,  in 
large  measure  upon  the  spirit,  the  attitude,  and  the  treat- 
ment of  the  historical  subjects  by  the  teacher;  conse- 
quently, it  is  essential  that  teachers  be  open-minded^ 


238  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

intelligent,  fair,  tolerant,  and  sympathetic,  and  that 
they  breathe  this  spirit  in  their  teaching  of  history. 

Is  History  ''  True  "  ?  —  Pupils  should  be  made  to  see 
that  there  is  no  historical  account  of  anything  that  has 
ever  happened,  that  is  absolutely  true  in  all  its  details. 
No  two  witnesses  of  any  event  will  tell  exactly  the  same 
story.  No  two  soldiers  or  officers,  even,  on  the  same 
side  in  a  battle,  would  write  the  same  historical  account 
of  it.  It  is  absolutely  impossible  to  tell  the  whole  truth 
and  nothing  but  the  truth.  It  frequently  happens,  as 
Macaulay  has  said,  that  *'  one  writer  will  tell  less  truth 
merely  because  he  tells  more  truths''  Consequently,  an 
account  by  a  particular  historian  of  the  battle  of  Gettys- 
burg may  not  be  true  in  its  details.  A  southern  his- 
torian does  not  see  it  as  a  northern  historian  does ;  and 
it  behooves  us  to  be  open-minded  and  to  hold  ourselves 
ready  to  change  our  verdict  if  new  facts  should  come  to 
light.  It  is  this  spirit  of  open-mindedness  as  well  as  of 
truthfulness,  of  justice  and  of  charity,  which  should  be 
instilled  in  every  lesson  in  history  teaching. 

Method  and  Results.  —  We  shall  not  go  into  a  dis- 
cussion here  as  to  whether  it  is  better  to  treat  of  all  the 
different  social  currents  in  our  history,  up  to  a  certain 
date,  before  investigating  any  one  of  them  further;  in 
other  words,  whether  it  is  better  to  drive  all  of  our  his- 
torical horses  abreast,  or  to  drive  some  of  them  tandem. 
We  would  lay  down  no  rule  in  regard  to  this.  It  might 
be  well  to  change  at  times  from  one  method  of  procedure 
to  another. 

Grasp  of  Movements  in  the  Large :  Samples.  —  But 
therq  are  many  topics  concerning  which  the  pupil  should 


History  239 

have  a  fairly  complete  and  comprehensive  grasp  when 
he  has  completed  United  States  history  in  the  eighth 
grade;  that  is,  he  should  have  an  elementary  under- 
standing of  such  topics  in  their  main  outline  and  in  true 
perspective.     A  few  samples  would  be  as  follows : 

1.  Our  territorial  growth. 

Here  the  pupil  should  be  able  to  go  back  and  give  our  acquisi- 
tions of  territory,  and  the  occasions  and  circumstances  surround- 
ing their  purchase. 

2.  The  growth  of  our  population. 

Here  he  should  be  able  to  explain  the  spread  of  our  population 
westward  across  the  Alleghanies  from  our  earliest  settlements 
on  the  Atlantic  coast,  and  to  correlate  our  population  with  our 
growth  in  territory  as  the  generations  and  decades  went  by.  He 
should  understand  the  movement  of  population  from  foreign 
countries  and  the  portions  of  our  country  in  which  different 
nationalities  have  settled.  He  should  also  be  able  to  correlate 
with  this  information,  the  influences  which  each  class  of  people 
has  had  upon  our  history. 

3.  The  industrial  and  commercial  progress  of  our  country. 

The  pupil  should  be  able  to  trace  this  in  an  elementary  but 
definite  way. 

4.  The  growth  of  our  science  and  literature. 

He  should  have  gained  some  knowledge  of,  and  thus  have  an 
adequate  tho  elementary  conception  of  this  topic,  according 
to  his  age  and  ability.  In  his  reading  he  has  been  introduced, 
as  we  saw,  to  selections  in  literature  from  all  our  great  authors. 
He  would,  of  course,  be  interested  in  scientific  inventions  and 
discoveries  and  should  have  been  made  acquainted  with  art  in 
its  chief  outlines. 

5.  The  growth  of  political  parties  and  religious  freedom. 

These  would  be  interesting  topics  to  have  investigated  and 
reported  in  systematic  form.  Great  lessons  in  political  and  re- 
ligious toleration  might  well  be  taught  here  and  the  impression 


240  Fu7ida7nentals  in  Methods 

left  upon  the  youthful  mind  that  two  things  are  especially  re- 
pugnant to  American  thought  and  life,  composed  as  we  are  of 
people  of  different  races,  nationalities,  and  religions;  namely, 
extreme  political  partisanship  and  religious  animosity. 

6.  Slavery. 

It  should  appear  at  the  end  of  the  eighth  grade  that  slavery 
has  been  the  cause  of  discussion,  of  controversy,  and  of  war  from 
the  time  when  slaves  were  landed  upon  our  shores  until  the  present 
time.  Slavery  is  the  thread  on  which  nearly  all  our  historical 
problems  have  been  strung.  Every  pupil  should  be  able  to  give 
an  elementary  summary  or  true  account  of  the  growth  and  decline 
of  slavery,  with  the  great  conflicts  that  have  been  caused  by  it. 

7.  The  Peace  Movement. 

School  children  should  be  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  the  Peace 
Movement.  War  has  been,  from  time  immemorial  up  to  within 
a  hundred  years  ago,  the  great  business  of  mankind.  Literally 
speaking,  the  chief  occupation  of  man  in  ages  past  has  been  cutting 
one  another's  throats.  With  the  growth  of  education  and  civili- 
zation thruout  the  earth,  war  in  the  twentieth  century  should  be- 
come a  thing  of  the  past,  notwithstanding  the  present  deplorable 
explosion  in  Europe.  All  the  peoples  of  the  earth  are  brought 
closer  together  by  the  innumerable  facilities  for  communication 
and  transportation  which  now  exist.  Great  ocean  greyhounds 
cross  the  Atlantic  in  five  days;  time  and  distance  are  practically 
annihilated  by  the  railroads,  the  telegraph,  the  telephone,  the 
automobile,  the  flying  machines,  and  wireless  telegraphy.  Peoples 
are  brought  closer  together  and  as  soon  as  they  come  to  know  one 
another  they  become  friends.  Even  the  Great  War  can  not 
nullify  this  tendency  and  law.  The  subject  of  peace  should  be 
presented  so  clearly,  sympathetically,  and  suggestively  that 
children  would  become  advocates  of  the  peace  movement.  It  is 
hoped  that  the  rising  generation  may  be  imbued  with  the  thought 
and  the  wish  that  the  day  may  come  "when  the  sword  of  inter- 
national warfare  may  be  laid  upon  the  table  of  international 
arbitration." 


CHAPTER  XVIII 
HYGIENE 

Importance.  —  Hygiene  is  one  of  the  most  important 
subjects  of  the  elementary  school;  for  health,  after  all, 
is  of  more  vital  importance  to  human  beings  than  any 
amount  of  knowledge  or  any  degree  of  intellectual 
attainment.  If  it  be  true  that  it  profiteth  a  man  Httle  to 
gain  the  whole  world  and  lose  his  own  soul,  it  is  likewise 
true  that  it  profiteth  Httle  to  gain  all  knowledge  and  lose 
our  health.  And  yet  it  is  true  that  we  are  all  somewhat 
obhvious  of  many  things  that  are  of  vital  importance, 
such  as  fresh  air,  sunHght,  friends,  contentment  in  our 
work,  and  physical  health.  When  we  are  deprived  of 
any  of  these,  we  are  brought  to  a  realizing  sense  of  our 
great  loss. 

Hygiene  Taught  Topically.  —  The  subject  of  hygiene 
may  be  best  presented  in  oral  form  and  at  opportune 
times  rather  than  by  means  of  a  regular  textbook  and 
set  recitation  periods.  This  is  especially  true  in  the 
lower  grades.  In  the  elementary  school  it  is  hygiene 
rather  than  physiology  that  should  receive  the  emphasis, 
and  there  are  so  many  problems  forced  upon  our  notice 
every  day  which  could  be  treated  with  interest  and  profit 
in  an  oral  and  informal  manner  that  a  textbook  would 
be  in  the  way  most  of  the  time  rather  than  be  of  any 
service  to  the  teacher  or  to  the  pupils.  After  the  subject 
R  241 


242  Fundamentals  hi  Methods 

has  been  thus  presented  in  the  primary  and  intermediate 
grades  it  would  probably  be  advantageous  to  round  it  out 
by  a  more  consecutive  and  systematic  study  of  a  good 
textbook  on  physiology  and  hygiene. 

Not  Anatomy.  —  A  generation  or  more  ago  when  the 
schools  began  to  act  upon  the  adage  that  "  The  proper 
study  of  mankind  is  man/'  teachers  began  their  instruc- 
tion, not  with  hygiene,  or  even  with  physiology,  but  with 
the  dry  bones  of  anatomy.  Pupils  ''  named  all  their 
bones  "  and  spent  days  and  weeks  upon  the  study  of  the 
structure  of  the  human  body.  Such  knowledge  was  of 
practically  no  use  in  real  life,  for  none  of  it  could  be 
applied  by  the  layman.  Details  of  human  anatomy  were 
discussed  which  are  known  only  to  the  physician,  and 
indeed,  which  are  forgotten  by  most  doctors  after  they 
have  left  the  medical  school.  Knowledge  of  this  kind 
remains  dead  in  the  minds  of  children. 

Nor  Physiology.  —  A  little  later  it  was  customary  to 
make  an  extensive  and  intensive  study  of  physiology, 
and  systematic  textbooks  were  introduced  as  low  as 
the  fifth  and  even  the  fourth  grade.  With  the  knowledge 
of  anatomy  and  physiology  thus  obtained,  pupils  lived  the 
same  unhygienic  lives  as  before;  there  was  Kttle  or  no 
fruitage  in  after  years.  The  knowledge  of  anatomy  and 
of  physiology  did  not  seem  to  function.  It  stopped 
short  of  the  real  valuable  information  which  would 
result,  in  after  years,  in  the  maintenance  of  health  and 
strength. 

Knowing  and  Doing.  —  It  is  one  of  the  lamentable 
facts  connected  with  knowledge  in  all  fields  that  it  is 
not  always  or  indeed  often   translated  into   conduct. 


Hygiene  243 

Everywhere  we  find  theory  without  practice.  Knowing 
and  doing  seem  to  be,  to  a  great  extent,  divorced.  And 
yet  the  chief  reason,  if  not  the  only  reason  why  we 
acquire  knowledge,  is  that  it  may  be  of  use  or  of  service 
to  us  in  some  way  in  actual  life.  Knowledge  is  not  an 
end  but  a  means.  The  knowledge  which  a  pupil  should 
acquire  in  regard  to  his  body  and  its  functions  should 
have  as  its  end  and  aim  good  health  and  a  wholesome  life 
generally. 

Hygiene.  —  It  is  not,  as  we  said,  a  knowledge  of 
anatomy  or  of  physiology,  on  the  part  of  the  child,  that 
leads  to  the  preservation  of  health  and  strength.  This 
is  the  specific  field  and  function  of  hygiene,  which  has 
its  roots,  not  in  anatomy,  nor  in  physiology  chiefly,  but 
in  common  knowledge,  common  sense,  and  common 
experience.  There  are  hundreds  of  topics  in  hygiene 
which  could  be  discussed,  explained,  and  illustrated 
from  the  experiences  of  everyday  Hfe  which  need  but  the 
most  elementary  knowledge  of  physiology  and  anatomy 
as  such.  These  are  the  topics  that  could  well  form  the 
subject-matter  for  the  teaching  of  hygiene  without  a 
text,  thruout  most  of  the  elementary  school.  These 
subjects  force  themselves  on  us  from  day  to  day  and 
could  well  be  taken  up  one  by  one  and  presented  clearly 
and  forcefully  to  the  pupils. 

Clear  Presentation.  —  In  this,  as  in  all  subjects,  a 
clear  understanding  on  the  part  of  the  pupil  and  hence  a 
clear  presentation  on  the  part  of  the  teacher  are  essential 
to  good  results.  Here,  as  elsewhere,  hazy  knowledge 
counts  for  Httle ;  it  is  clear,  definite  pictures  that  result 
in  action  and  in  conduct.     A  clear  understanding  on  the 


244  Fundamentals  hi  Methods 

part  of  the  pupils  will  tend  strongly  to  express  itself  in 
actual  life.  A  definite  idea,  a  clear,  imaginative  picture, 
impresses  itself,  works  itself  out,  and  realizes  itself  in 
conduct  and  in  life.  And  hence  if  each  topic  be  pre- 
sented in  such  a  definite  way  that  it  will  really  awaken 
and  impress  the  children  and  produce  in  them  good 
resolutions,  the  end  will  have  been  accomplished.  It 
will  be  impossible  for  them  to  forget  knowledge  of  this 
kind,  and  hence  they  will  be  continually  urged  by  sug- 
gestion to  do  what  is  hygienic  and  to  avoid  what  has 
been  shown  to  be  harmful. 

The  chief  aim  in  the  presentation  of  every  topic 
should  be  to  make  it  so  clear  and  striking  that  it  will 
become  a  subject  of  thought  and  of  conversation  among 
the  pupils  and  thus  become  a  real  motive  in  their  lives. 
It  would  be  better  still  if  it  stirred  the  parents  and  the 
community  at  large.  There  is  nothing  better  than 
discussion  to  clarify  and  make  effective  any  subject  of 
study. 

The  Chief  Topics  Branch  Out :  Samples.  —  We  shall 
discuss  in  this  chapter  only  a  few  topics,  as  samples, 
under  the  principal  divisions  in  the  treatment  of  hygiene. 
In  the  classroom  these  will,  of  course,  branch  out  from 
day  to  day  into  scores  and  hundreds  of  minor  and  sub- 
ordinate topics.  The  teacher  should  be  guided  in  her 
sequence  by  the  correlations  of  the  day  and  by  the  needs 
and  the  experiences  of  the  pupils  and  the  community. 

I.  Respect  for  the  Body.  —  Children  should  be  taught 
that  their  bodies  are  sacred  things  and  hence  deserving 
of  the  highest  respect.  They  are  temples  of  the  mind  or 
the  spirit  and  should  be  treated  as  such.     A  person  who 


Hygiene  245 

has  a  wholesome  respect  for  his  body  is  the  person  who 
has,  as  a  rule,  the  most  self-respect.  Children  should 
be  taught  that  the  body  should  be  kept  clean,  that  it 
should  never  be  abused  or  debauched,  and  that  it  should 
be  regarded  as  our  most  sacred  possession.  A  sound 
body  is  the  basis  of  a  sound  mind,  and  any  abuse  of  the 
former,  whether  it  can  be  measured  or  not,  has  its  effect 
upon  the  latter.  The  teacher  should  select  for  illustra- 
tion of  this  subject  portions  of  the  discussions  found  in 
the  various  elementary  textbooks  on  hygiene  in  her 
possession.  She  will  have,  of  course,  on  her  desk  several 
or  many  elementary  texts  on  physiology  and  hygiene, 
and  these  may  be  used  as  source  books  in  her  work. 

A  poem  like  The  Living  Temple  by  Oliver  Wendell 
Holmes,  and  other  such  selections,  read  here  to  the  pupils 
and  by  them,  in  an  intelligent  and  appreciative  way, 
either  in  connection  with  the  hygiene  lesson  or  in  the 
regular  reading  lesson,  but  correlated  with  this  discussion, 
would  be  full  of  interest  and  profit.  The  old  book  by 
the  Aliens,  called  The  Man  Wonderful  in  The  House 
Beautiful,  was  a  wholesome  and  interesting  allegory  and 
the  reading  of  it  to  the  pupils  would  give  occasions  and 
opportunities  without  number  for  the  teacher  to  instill 
into  the  pupils'  minds  a  genuine  respect  for  their  bodies. 

(a)  Bathing.  —  In  the  discussion  of  "  Respect  for  the 
Body  "  many  subordinate  topics  will  come  to  mind  or 
be  brought  up  for  discussion  by  the  pupils  themselves. 
One  of  these,  which  I  discuss  here  in  brief,  by  way  of 
illustration,  is  the  subject  of  bathing.  This  subject,  of 
course,  should  receive  treatment  adapted  to  the  personnel 
of  the  school.     Probably  in  some  schools  but  little  would 


246  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

need  to  be  said,  for  in  those  cases  the  children  would  be 
found  to  come  from  good  families  who,  as  a  rule,  practice 
cleanliness  in  all  its  forms.  It  should  be  shown,  however, 
that  the  skin  is  one  of  the  great  excretory  organs  of  the 
body.  Waste  matter  which  clogs  the  system  is  con- 
stantly being  produced  in  the  body,  and  this  can  find 
an  exit  only  thru  the  pores  of  the  skin ;  consequently, 
these  pores  should  be  kept  open.  This  can  be  done 
only  by  frequent  and  regular  bathing.  Remarkable 
as  the  fact  may  be,  it  is  true  that  many  people  and  many 
children,  not  only  in  rural  districts,  but  in  large  cities, 
scarcely  ever  bathe.  If  after  a  clear  and  plain  dis- 
cussion of  the  necessity  of  cleanliness  in  this  respect 
such  children  could  be  induced  to  bathe  even  once  a 
month,  much  would  be  gained.  If  those  who  now  bathe 
once  a  month  could  be  induced  to  bathe  once  a  week,  so 
much  the  better !  If  those  who  bathe  once  a  week  could 
be  impressed  with  the  desirability  of  opening  up  the  pores 
as  often  as  necessary  —  once  every  day  or  two  —  for  the 
keeping  of  their  bodies  in  a  healthy  and  cleanly  condi- 
tion, a  great  work  would  have  been  done.  Indeed,  there 
seems  to  be  a  prejudice  among  some  people  against 
bathing.  What  the  origin  of  it  is  we  do  not  know :  it 
may  be  a  mistaken  idea  of  modesty  and  of  respect  for 
the  body ;  but  if  children  could  be  made  to  see  that  it  is 
by  cleanliness  rather  than  by  filth  that  we  cherish  and 
respect  our  bodies,  it  would  be  a  step  gained  in  the  teach- 
ing of  hygiene. 

(6)  Sex  Hygiene.  —  The  question  of  teaching  the 
hygiene  of  sex  has  been  much  discussed  during  the  last 
few  years.    This  subject  should,  it  seems  to  the  author, 


Hygiene  247 

be  avoided  by  the  ordinary  teacher.  Of  course,  if  a 
child  should  ask  his  teacher  for  information  or  advice  in 
regard  to  sex  questions,  it  would  be  eminently  appropriate 
for  the  teacher  to  give  such  information  in  confidence, 
but  the  discussion  should  be  minimized  and  reduced  to 
its  lowest  terms.  The  public  discussion  of  sex  problems 
before  a  class  in  an  elementary  school  is  an  egregious 
blunder.  If  information  be  given  privately  and  modestly 
to  an  individual  when  it  is  asked,  it  will  be  considered 
by  that  child  a  privileged  communication,  a  secret  to  be 
kept  in  honor;  but  if  such  information  be  given  indis- 
criminately, it  is  likely  to  spread  out  mischievously  into 
vulgarity  and  incipient  immorality. 

2.  The  Germ  Theory  of  Disease.  —  The  germ  theory  of 
disease  is  one  of  those  generic  subjects  which  would 
radiate  out  into  a  variety  and  multiplicity  of  specific 
topics.  The  subject  of  germs  should  be  presented  in  as 
vivid  a  manner  as  possible.  These  little  organisms 
should  mean  something  definite  so  that  children  will 
know  what  they  are  and  what  they  do.  Some  of  these 
germs  are  our  enemies,  but  others  are  our  friends.  It 
should  be  made  clear  to  the  children  that  every  so-called 
"  germ  disease  "  is  caused  by  a  specific  kind  of  germ ; 
that  as  this  particular  kind  is  taken  into  the  lungs  or 
the  stomach  or  the  blood  they  multiply  at  an  enormous 
rate,  producing  waste  matter  that  the  system  can  not 
dispose  of  and  thus  causing  fever.  When  these  germs 
have  run  their  course,  —  when  their  generation  has 
suffered  decay,  —  the  vital  forces  of  the  body  regain  the 
ascendancy.  It  should  be  shown  that  the  greatest 
enemies  of  these  hosts  of  germs  are  sunlight  and  fresh 


248  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

air  and  that,  consequently,  people  should  hve  in  such 
conditions  as  allow  and  furnish  the  greatest  fullness  of 
these  life-preserving  and  germ-destroying  agencies. 

As  in  previous  cases,  the  author  would  here  merely 
indicate  by  a  few  samples  the  direction  which  such 
discussions  should  take : 

{a)  Consumption.  —  Suggested  by  the  foregoing,  the 
dread  disease  known  as  the  white  plague,  or  consumption, 
should  be  discussed  fully  and  freely.  Consumption,  it 
should,  for  example,  be  explained,  is  a  form  of  tuber- 
culosis —  that  form  which  attacks  the  lungs.  Many 
old  notions  and  prejudices  in  regard  to  consumption 
should  be  thoroly  rooted  out.  Before  the  germ  origin 
of  diseases  was  known,  and  hence  before  the  danger 
of  consumption  was  realized,  it  was  thought  that  this 
disease  was  not  infectious  and  that  there  was  no  danger 
in  coming  in  contact  with  it.  Elderly  people,  even  yet, 
sometimes  feel  offended  if  friends  and  neighbors  show 
signs  of  fear  and  avoid  their  homes  or  their  consumptive 
relatives.  But  consumption  is  exceedingly  infectious 
and  should  be  as  carefully  guarded  in  every  way  as 
smallpox  or  cholera.  Pupils  should  be  told  just  how 
the  germ  in  consumption  is  communicated  —  thru  the 
saliva  or  the  matter  ejected  from  the  lungs,  and  hence 
often  by  the  breath  in  close  proximity.  In  the  coughing 
paroxysms  in  consumption  the  germs  in  great  numbers 
may  be  expelled  from  the  lungs,  and  these,  when  they 
become  dry  and  float  in  the  air,  may  be  inhaled  by  other 
people.  If,  however,  the  patient  be  careful  to  confine 
and  burn  the  saliva  and  other  matter  ejected  from  his 
lungs,  there  is  little  danger  to  others  from  this  source. 


Hygiene  249 

But  eternal  vigilance  is  the  price  of  exemption.  Tuber- 
cular germs  may  also  be  taken  into  the  system  thru  in- 
fected meats  and  other  foods. 

(6)  Typhoid  fever  is  another  of  the  germ  diseases 
which  is  very  prevalent  thruout  the  country.  Chil- 
dren in  school  should  be  on  their  guard  against  it. 
Thousands  and  thousands  of  people  die  needlessly  every 
year  in  the  United  States  of  typhoid  fever.  Most  of 
the  cases  come  thru  negligence  or  thru  ignorance  of  the 
cause. 

Some  years  ago  the  writer  was  discussing  t5^hoid 
fever  in  a  lesson  on  hygiene  before  his  school.  The 
disease  was  somewhat  epidemic  at  the  time  in  the  neigh- 
borhood and  he  wished  to  put  the  children  in  a  position 
to  protect  themselves  and  to  prevent  the  spread  of  the 
disease  in  the  community.  He  told  the  class  that 
typhoid  fever  is  a  germ  disease  and  that  this  germ 
propagates  best  in  filthy  or  Joul  sources.  He  explained 
that  these  germs  are  taken  into  the  system  with  such 
foods  as  milk  and  butter,  which  rapidly  absorb  the 
germs  and  form  a  good  soil  for  them ;  that  water  con- 
taminated from  foul  sources  is  probably  the  most  fruit- 
ful cause  of  this  fever.  He  then  went  on  to  explain  that 
sometimes  these  germs  get  into  the  air  and  as  spores  are 
breathed  in,  or  inhaled,  and  thus  find  lodgment  in  the 
system. 

Here  again  we  would  warn  teachers  in  regard  to  the 
imaginative  pictures  which  children  form  during  a  dis- 
cussion. The  good  teacher  should  always  call  back  in- 
struction to  see  if  the  pupils  have  a  true  understanding. 
He  will  often  find  conceptions  which  he  has  been  trying 


250  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

to  convey  very  much  distorted  when  returned  to  him. 
In  the  foregoing  lesson  on  typhoid  fever  the  word  joul 
played  havoc  with  one  youth  in  the  class ;  he  had  also 
noted  that  the  germs  were  breathed  in.  When  later  the 
teacher  called  back  the  instruction  in  a  test  and  asked 
"  What  is  the  cause  of  typhoid  fever?  "  this  youth  wrote : 
'*  Typhoid  fever  is  caused  by  breathing  in  of  the  fowls  of 
the  air ! ''  This  shows  the  necessity  of  making  things 
clear. 

(c)  Lockjaw.  —  Another  disease  that  is  somewhat 
common,  and  very  violent  when  it  does  occur,  is  what  is 
known  as  lockjaw,  or  tetanus.  The  class  should  be 
told  that  this  is  a  germ  disease,  but  that  the  germ  finds 
entrance  into  the  system  by  means  of  a  puncture  in 
the  skin.  Frequently  a  boy  steps  on  an  old  nail  and  the 
germ  finds  entrance  in  this  way.  The  germ  of  tetanus  is 
most  frequently  found  in  the  soil  or  on  rusty  nails  that 
have  come  in  contact  with  the  soil.  If  some  of  these 
germs  are  on  the  nail  when  it  pierces  the  skin,  they  will 
increase  and  multiply  in  the  body,  causing  extreme  heat 
and  swelUng  and  such  a  stiffness  that  a  person  can  not 
open  and  close  his  mouth.  This  is  why  it  is  called  lock- 
jaw. When  the  disease  progresses  this  far,  it  is  ex- 
tremely dangerous  and  frequently  results  in  a  painful 
death. 

{f)  Trichinosis.  —  This  subject  would  lead  to  an  inter- 
esting short  discussion,  and  when  effectively  presented, 
might  frequently  result,  we  think,  in  the  avoidance  of 
danger.  Trichinosis  is  caused  by  eating  raw  pork,  which 
is  often  infected  by  little  organisms  known  as  trichinae. 
When  these  permeate  the  system  and  completely  fill  it,  a 


Hygiene  251 

person  dies  a  protracted  and  agonizing  death.  Con- 
sequently, the  danger  of  eating  raw  pork  should  be  made 
plain  to  children. 

(e)  Flies.  —  An  interesting  and  helpful  lesson  might  be 
given  on  the  common  house  fly  and  its  notoriously  un- 
clean habits.  Charts  showing  the  construction  of  the 
mouth  and  proboscis  of  the  fly  may  be  easily  secured. 
Flies  visit  sources  of  filth  of  all  kinds  and  then,  with  their 
feet  and  bodies  contaminated,  they  alight  upon  the  foods 
on  our  tables,  leaving  there  the  germs  which  become  a 
source  of  many  diseases.  Germ  diseases  of  all  kinds  rise 
and  fall  with  the  number  of  flies  and  the  ease  with  which 
they  enter  our  homes  and  contaminate  our  foods. 
Children  should  thus  be  taught  the  necessity  of  exter- 
minating the  fly,  and  better  still,  the  ways  by  which  the 
fly  pest  may  be  prevented.  It  should  be  shown  how 
individuals  and  families  and  communities  should  clean 
up  all  sources  of  fly  propagation  and  should  spread  the 
good  gospel  of  fly  extermination.  Children  should  be 
impressed  with  the  truth  that  the  fly  is  one  of  the  great 
enemies  of  mankind,  but  that  the  fly  can  not  be  blamed 
if  we  cultivate  him. 

3.  Fresh  Air.  —  In  the  presentation  of  this  topic,  as  in 
others,  it  is  important  to  give  some  striking  phase  of  it 
and  to  supply  illustrations  that  will  arrest  the  attention 
and  arouse  such  interest  as  will  result  later  in  better 
living.  It  might  be  mentioned,  for  instance,  that  many 
people  nail  down  and  hermetically  seal  their  windows 
during  the  winter  so  that  no  fresh  air  can  get  in  any- 
where. Indeed,  the  idea  seems  to  be  prevalent  in  some 
households  that  fresh  air  is  a  dangerous  thing  which 


252  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

must  be  excluded  by  all  means ;  that  it  is  the  cause  of 
drafts  and  hence  of  colds  in  various  forms.  And  so,  the 
family  live  night  and  day,  when  they  are  not  in  the  open, 
in  a  condition  in  which  their  lungs  are  being  not  only 
starved,  but  poisoned,  for  want  of  fresh  air. 

{a)  Unventilated  Public  Buildings.  —  We  have  all 
noticed,  on  visiting  an  unventilated  schoolroom,  the  blast 
of  vile  odor  that  strikes  us  upon  entering  the  door. 
Those  who  are  inside,  of  course,  have  become  habituated 
to  it  and  do  not  realize  the  condition.  Most  of  the 
sickness  and  much  of  the  inattention  and  lethargy,  the 
drowsiness  and  headache,  in  many  schools  is  caused  by  a 
lack  of  fresh  air.  Many  churches,  too,  are  lung-poisoning 
places.  Many  of  them  are  without  an  efficient  system 
of  ventilation,  and  after  the  congregation  leaves  the 
building  on  Sundays  the  doors  are  closed  and  a  church- 
ful  of  foul  air  is  preserved  for  the  next  meeting. 

(&)  An  Illustration.  —  It  could  be  shown  by  the 
teacher  that  a  hghted  candle  placed  in  a  closed  box 
which  will  not  admit  fresh  air  will  burn  dimly  and 
will  go  out  for  want  of  oxygen.  A  similar  condition 
exists  in  many  schoolrooms  and  other  public  buildings. 
There  is  not  a  sufficient  supply  of  oxygen  to  feed  the 
flame  of  life,  and  children  go  thru  a  process  of  lung 
starvation  from  week  to  week. 

{c)  The  Black  Hole  of  Calcutta.  —  To  show  the  im- 
portance of  fresh  air,  striking  incidents  like  the  horri- 
ble experience  in  "  the  Black  Hole  of  Calcutta  "  should 
be  told  or  read.  It  is  necessary  frequently  to  arouse 
and  even  to  startle  pupils  in  order  to  bring  them  to  a 
realizing  sense  of  what  should  be  done.     The  Master's 


Hygiene  253 

method  of  teaching  by  parables  and  by  illustrative  ma- 
terial is  best  here,  as  in  every  other  subject. 

(J)  Breathing  Exercises. — A  friend  of  the  author  says 
that  when  he  was  a  young  man,  going  to  Yale  University, 
he  had  to  leave  on  account  of  what  everybody  thought 
was  consumption.  He  went  home,  and  he  could  read 
in  the  faces  of  the  old  ladies,  as  they  came  in  to  see  him, 
the  verdict  that  he  was  not  long  for  this  world.  But  he 
heard  of  a  specialist  in  breathing  exercises  and  went  to 
consult  him.  This  speciaHst,  along  with  prescribing 
some  medicine,  gave  him  a  program  of  breathing  exer- 
cises. Paying  but  slight  attention  to  the  medicines,  he 
proceeded  to  carry  out  his  program.  The  first  time  that 
he  made  the  attempt,  taking  in  a  long,  full,  deep  breath, 
he  grew  weak  and  fainted,  and  had  to  be  carried  in. 
But  he  never  gave  up  the  idea  that  lungs  are  made  for 
breathing;  and  so  he  continued  with  renewed  energy 
but  with  more  carefulness.  After  a  few  months  he 
could  allow  two  minutes  to  intervene  between  the  be- 
ginning of  an  inhalation  and  the  end  of  an  exhalation. 
Standing  before  a  vast  audience,  the  very  picture  of 
health  and  strength,  and  bringing  his  right  arm  up  and 
pounding  his  chest  so  that  the  sound  could  be  heard 
thruout  the  room,  he  exclaimed,  "  There  is  no  con- 
sumption there !  "  Children  could  hardly  forget  an 
illustration  of  this  kind.  Correct  breathing  could  well 
become  with  them  a  habit,  and  such  a  habit  can  not  fail 
to  result  in  better  health  thruout  life. 

4.  Care  of  the  Eyes  and  Ears.  —  Much  valuable 
information  could  and  should  be  given  to  the  children 
in  regard  to  the  care  of  the  eyes  and  of  the  ears.     In 


254  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

fact,  teachers  themselves  often  remain  oblivious  or 
ignorant  of  the  condition  of  their  pupils'  sight  and 
hearing.  Many  children  do  not  see  well,  and  do 
not  know  that  their  eyes  are  imperfect.  They  do 
not  see  what  is  written  on  the  blackboard  and  think 
that  it  is  their  own  fault.  Many  children  do  not  hear 
well,  and  do  not  know  of  this  defect.  Teachers  should 
be  constantly  on  the  watch  for  defects  of  this  kind  in 
their  schools. 

ia)  The  Lighting.  —  It  should  be  made  plain  to 
children  that  it  is  dangerous  to  read  without  suffi- 
cient hght.  The  author  remembers  a  sentence  which 
he  read  in  his  boyhood  days  and  which  he  has  never 
forgotten.  It  is  this :  "A  thoughtless  hour  of  reading 
by  twiHght  may  impair  the  sight  for  Hfe ! "  State- 
ments like  this  and  illustrations  that  are  vivid  are 
never  forgotten  and  are  very  sure  to  result  in  better 
doing.  The  danger  of  front  lights  and  of  cross  Hghts, 
constantly  playing  upon  the  eyes  of  children,  should 
be  guarded  against  by  the  teacher  and  should  be  clearly 
explained  to  the  pupils. 

(6)  Restful  Colors.  —  Useful  lessons  might  be  given, 
not  only  in  the  care  of  the  eyes,  but  also  in  elementary 
aesthetics  along  the  line  of  colors.  Children  and  savages, 
as  a  rule,  Hke  loud  and  flashy  colors  and  violent  contrasts. 
Certain  wall  colors  are  injurious  to  the  eyes  if  we  are 
constantly  subjected  to  them.  The  colors  of  the  school- 
room should  be  neutral  and  restful. 

(c)  Defects  of  Vision  and  Hearing.  —  The  children 
should  be  tested  for  near-sight,  far-sight,  astigmatism, 
and  color  blindness.    As  we  said,  many  children  have  eye 


Hygiene  255 

defects  of  which  they  and  their  parents  are  entirely  un- 
conscious. It  would  be  well  for  the  teacher  to  have  a 
set  of  what  are  called  the  Snellen  Tests.  Such  tests  are 
simple  and  could  be  made  by  any  teacher.  She  could 
merely  determine  whether  the  child  is  afHicted  with 
near-sight,  far-sight,  or  astigmatism ;  and  in  such  cases 
could  tell  the  child  or  its  parents.  The  children  should 
be  given  sound  advice  as  to  what  to  do.  They  should 
be  told  to  see  a  resident  ocuHst  or  optician.  Attention 
at  the  beginning  may  prevent  grave  trouble  later. 
Defects  of  the  eyes  frequently  cause  headaches  and  other 
ailments  of  which  neither  the  children  nor  their  parents 
know  the  cause.  Such  useful  information  should  be 
presented  to  children  in  as  interesting  a  way  as  possible 
so  as  to  arouse  their  curiosity  and  their  desire  for  in- 
formation in  these  matters. 

The  teacher  should  also  test  the  ears  of  children. 
This  may  be  done  by  a  watch:  if  when  one  ear  is 
closed  to  sounds,  the  ticking  of  a  watch  can  be 
heard  by  the  other  about  at  arm's  length,  the  hearing 
is  normal. 

5.  Care  of  the  Teeth.  —  The  care  of  the  teeth  is  also  a 
very  important  subject  and  should  be  explained  fully 
and  concretely.  The  pupil  should  reahze  that  his  second 
set  of  teeth  must  last  him  all  his  life  and  hence  that  the 
teeth  are  worth  taking  care  of  and  preserving  by  all 
possible  means.  In  the  old  days,  before  the  advance  of 
dental  surgery,  the  tooth  which  became  troublesome 
was  extracted ;  now  the  practice  is  to  save  it  if  at  all 
possible,  thereby  increasing  the  masticating  surface. 
Children  should  be  taught  that  it  is  well  to  have  their 


256  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

teeth  examined  by  a  dentist  at  least  once  a  year,  and  all 
defects  or  cavities  filled.  Frequently,  tartar,  a  concrete 
substance,  gathers  on  the  teeth  and  pushes  its  way  up 
under  the  gums.  Children  should  also  be  taught  that 
they  should  have  a  toothbrush  and  use  it  night  and  morn- 
ing. A  good  mouth  wash  is  simple  salt  water.  They 
should  also  be  taught,  in  the  preservation  of  their  teeth, 
not  to  crack  nuts  or  bite  substances  that  might  injure 
the  enamel.  Reason  and  illustrations  should  make 
clear  what  the  teacher  is  attempting  to  impress. 

In  the  discussion  of  the  teeth,  as  in  all  other  subjects, 
the  children  will  have  many  questions  to  ask  and  may 
furnish  some  good  information.  In  any  event  discussion 
will  help  to  awaken  in  their  minds  a  clear  knowledge  of 
what  to  do  or  what  not  to  do  and  a  resolution  to  act 
accordingly. 

6.  Exercise  and  Play,  {a)  Outside  Games.  —  This  is 
another  important  subject  from  the  point  of  view  of 
hygiene.  In  the  rural  school,  where  the  teacher  con- 
trols the  situation,  she  should  see  to  it  that  the  pupils 
learn  to  play  a  great  many  games.  It  seems  to  the  author 
that  children  nowadays  hardly  know  how  to  play.  A 
generation  ago  there  was  a  variety  of  games  in  which 
they  all  participated.  One  of  the  best  things  a  teacher 
could  do  would  be  to  interest  the  children  in  various 
kinds  of  plays.  One  of  the  pleasantest  memories  of  the 
author  goes  back  to  the  rural  school  playground  where 
the  teacher  joined  in  all  kinds  of  sports.  The  whole 
school  should  turn  out  after  lunch  and  at  recess  and  en- 
gage in  play.  If  the  community  can  be  interested,  so  as 
to  make  the  movement  more  extensive  than  the  school, 


Hygiene  257 

so  much  the  better.  Races,  horseshoes,  baseball,  tennis, 
basket  ball,  prison  base,  anything  —  even  marbles  have 
their  merit. 

{b)  Indoor  Gymnastics.  —  Nor  should  indoor  exer- 
cises be  forgotten.  Frequently  between  classes  fresh 
air  should  be  admitted  freely  so  as  to  attain  outside 
conditions  as  nearly  as  possible,  and  the  whole  school 
should  be  put  thru  some  energetic  and  really  warming- 
up  exercises  for  about  ten  minutes.  The  time  thus 
spent  is  not  time  lost.  If  it  is  not  possible  to  have 
regular  outside  games,  there  should  be  at  least  one  and 
preferably  two  regular  periods  for  physical  exercise 
on  the  daily  schedule. 

Such  exercises  are  needed  in  rural  as  well  as  in  city 
schools,  for  the  chief  aim  is  to  increase  the  circulation, 
develop  fuller  respiration,  and  aid  digestion.  Gymnas- 
tics rightly  taught  and  engaged  in  tend  to  counteract  the 
cramped  position  of  pupils  and  overcome  bad  tendencies 
of  sitting,  standing,  and  working.  School  Gymnastics j 
by  Harriet  Trask,  containing  graded  exercises,  some 
games,  and  a  few  fancy  steps,  would  be  a  great  help 
to  the  average  teacher. 

(c)  What  to  Emphasize  and  Avoid.  —  Good  posture 
should  be  emphasized  at  all  times.  Many  young  people 
as  well  as  adults  have  shght  spinal  deformities  as  a  result 
of  bad  habits  of  standing  and  sitting.  In  all  gymnastic 
work  the  head  should  be  held  up,  the  chest  out,  the 
shoulders  back,  and  the  feet  together.  The  pupils 
should  be  taught  the  cause  and  the  effects  of  round 
shoulders.  It  is  not  the  looks,  but  the  injurious  effects 
on  health  that  is  most  important.     When  the  chest  is 


258  JFundamentals  in  Methods 

narrow  and  the  shoulders  round,  the  lungs  can  not  ex- 
pand so  well,  we  get  less  fresh  air,  and  the  blood  is  not 
so  well  oxygenated. 

Athletics  and  games  which  demand  too  severe  a 
strain  should  be  avoided,  especially  by  girls.  The 
health  of  many  a  girl,  for  example,  has  been  injured  by 
basketball  work  on  account  of  a  lack  of  care  on  her  part 
and  oversight  on  the  part  of  those  in  charge.  In  the 
case  of  young  children  one  individual  should  not  be 
pitted  against  another.  Contests  should  be  in  groups. 
If  it  be  a  case  of  jumping,  the  average  for  the  group 
should  be  the  standard. 

7.  Alcohol  and  Narcotics.  —  This  is  a  subject  which 
should  be  treated  in  a  frank  and  sincere  way  and  without 
exaggeration.  It  is  probable  that  some  of  the  text- 
books'during  the  last  generation  have  made  too  much  of 
this  subject.  Hygiene  should  be  the  unit,  and  both  alco- 
hol and  narcotics  should  be  subtopics  under  it.  Some- 
times the  less  said  the  better  in  regard  to  these  subjects, 
if  what  is  said  is  given  in  a  friendly,  sincere,  and  brief 
discussion.  ''  If  'twere  done  when  'tis  done,  then  'twere 
well  'twere  done  quickly."  Long,  drawn-out  lessons  on 
both  alcohol  and  narcotics  are  sometimes  analogous  to 
nagging  and  scolding.  The  author  is  incKned  to.  think 
that  a  personal  example  and  the  personal  and  friendly 
touch  of  the  teacher  is  worth  more  than  long  discussions. 
All  the  facts  in  regard  to  both  the  cause  and  the  effects 
should  be  presented  according  to  the  grade  and  the 
ability  of  the  pupils,  but  the  teacher  should  assume  the 
attitude  of  the  true  teacher  rather  than  that  of  the  direct 
moralizer.     The  plain  truth  in  regard  to  the  influence  of 


Hygiene  259 

alcohol  and  narcotics  is  more  strange  and  more  powerful 
than  fiction. 

8.  Miscellaneous  Specific  Topics.  —  The  author  has 
thus  far  contented  himself  with  merely  giving  a  few 
samples  of  the  presentation  of  topics  in  hygiene.  Others 
without  number  will  be  suggested  from  day  to  day : 

(i)  The  whole  subject  of  vaccination  should  be  covered 
in  a  simple,  elementary,  and  concrete  way,  and  the  right 
impression  should  be  left. 

(2)  The  subject  of  anger  should  be  discussed,  and  it 
should  be  shown  that  anger,  or  bad  temper,  indulged 
to  a  habit,  results  in  a  kind  of  souring  process  which 
generates  a  subtle  poison  in  the  body  and  militates 
against  health. 

(3)  The  common  drinking  cup  should  be  discussed  at 
length  with  all  its  attendant  dangers. 

(4)  Foods  and  their  relative  values  would  make  an 
interesting  subject  of  discussion. 

Other  topics  too  numerous  to  mention,  which  the 
children  or  the  lesson  may  suggest,  offer  subject-matter 
in  hygiene  that  is  rich,  varied,  and  fruitful  in  good 
results  when  presented  by  the  wide-awake  and  impressive 
teacher. 

References.  —  The  following  books  selected  from  a  large 
and  growing  Hterature  on  this  subject  are  good  samples 
of  valuable  sources  for  the  teacher : 

Bancroft :  The  Posture  of  School  Children  (The  Macmillan  Co.). 
Bancroft :  Games  for  the  Playground,  Home,  School  and  Gymnasium 

(The  Macmillan  Co.). 
Cornell:    The  Health  aftd  Medical  Inspection  of  School  Children 

(F.  A.  Davis  &  Co.,  Philadelphia). 


26o  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

Dressier:  School  Hygiene  (The  Macmillan  Co.). 

Pyle :  Personal  Hygiene  (W.  B.  Saunders  Co.,  Philadelphia). 

Rowe:    The    Physical    Nature    of   the    Child    (The    Macmillan 

Co.). 
O'Shea  and  Kellogg:  Health  Series  of  Physiology  and  Hygiene 

(The    Macmillan    Co.).     i.   Health  Habits.     2.   Health  and 

Cleanliness.    3.   The  Body  in  Health.    4.  Making  the  Most 

of  Life. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

THE  TEACHING  OF  MORALS 

Indirect  Teaching  Best.  —  In  the  teaching  of  good 
manners  and  good  morals  the  writer  is  convinced  that 
instruction  should  not  be  given  in  a  formal  manner,  at 
regular  specific  times,  or  from  a  textbook.  The  occa- 
sions for  driving  home  a  moral  lesson  are  innumerable. 
The  teaching  of  morals  impHes  a  fine,  intangible,  and 
indirect  influence  which  should  not  be  cast  in  cut-and- 
dried  lessons.  Such  teaching  is  one  of  the  most  difficult 
of  arts,  and  to  cast  it  into  molds  and  deal  it  out  at  regular 
times,  as  in  the  case  of  arithmetic,  grammar,  and  other 
subjects,  would  be  to  do  violence  to  it.  These  latter 
subjects  are  best  taught  when  pupils  are  most  conscious 
of  the  content ;  while  morality  is  instilled  more  effectively 
in  an  indirect  way  and  when  pupils  are  least  conscious 
that  they  are  being  moraHzed.  If  there  be  a  definite 
period  on  the  program  for  the  teaching  of  morals,  some, 
if  not  most,  of  the  pupils  will  think  and  say  to  themselves, 
^'  Here  comes  the  sermon  again !  "  Neither  children 
nor  adults  Hke  to  be  lectured  or  preached  at  in  this 
direct  manner.  The  best  time  to  bring  a  moral  lesson 
to  bear  is  when  the  occasion  naturally  gives  rise  to  it. 
The  time  to  strike  is  when  the  iron  is  hot,  when  there  is  a 
propriety  in  the  lesson  or  the  illustration.  Indeed,  it  is 
best  not  to  point  the  moral  at  all ;   this  will  be  inferred 

261 


262  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

by  the  pupils  and  has  the  best  effect  when  they  them- 
selves draw  the  inference  and  silently  make  the  applica- 
tion to  their  own  lives. 

The  Moralizing  Power  of  the  Teacher.  —  The  teacher's 
Hfe  is,  after  all,  the  greatest  moraHzing  power  in  the 
schoolroom.  Everything  that  he  says  and  does  and  his 
whole  method  and  manner  of  procedure  are  moralizing, 
either  positively  or  negatively.  Many  teachers  so  im- 
press themselves  upon  their  pupils  that  a  stranger  who 
knows  both  could  tell  the  relation :  the  pupil  acts  in  so 
many  ways  Hke  the  teacher.  Children  may  forget  the 
specific  lessons  of  grammar,  arithmetic,  geography,  or 
history  and  yet  carry  with  them  thru  life  a  vivid 
mental  picture  of  an  inspiring  and  enthusiastic  teacher. 
Such  a  teacher  becomes  a  model  and  an  ideal.  All  his 
characteristics  are  in  a  measure  transferred  to  his  pupils : 
his  manners,  even,  become  theirs ;  his  virtues  influence 
their  lives.  This  means  that  his  quahties  of  mind  and 
heart  flow  into  their  lives  and  become  a  part  of  them. 
A  pupil  can  not  come  under  the  influence  of  a  great 
teacher  for  any  length  of  time  without  being  morally 
impressed,  morally  formed  and  fashioned  by  him.  Con- 
sequently the  teacher  should  bear  in  mind  at  all  times 
that  his  ways  and  his  words  are  silently  having  their 
effect  upon  his  pupils,  who  will  act  later  in  a  manner 
quite  different  from  the  way  in  which  they  otherwise 
would.  The  true  teacher  reaHzes  the  importance  of  his 
caUing ;  he  feels  that  a  responsibihty  rests  upon  him  and 
that  he  is  producing  results  in  the  lives  of  others,  either 
in  the  direction  of  good  or  of  evil.  As  a  teacher  can 
give  only  what  he  is,  it  is  all  important  in  the  life  of  a 


The  Teaching  of  Morals  263 

school  and  possibly  of  a  community  what  kind  of  teacher 
is  employed.  The  commonplace  teacher  will  produce 
commonplace  lives,  both  academically  and  morally; 
while  the  great,  moral,  impressive  teacher  will  generate 
lives  after  his  kind.  If  a  teacher  is  sincere,  truthful, 
honest,  simple,  just,  sympathetic,  and  kind,  these 
qualities  will  be  evoked  and  developed  in  the  hves  of 
the  children,  and  this  is  the  highest  kind  of  moral  teach- 
ing. 

The  Moralizing  Power  of  Schoolmates.  —  Altho  the 
home  is  the  greatest  moraHzing  agency  in  the  Kfe  and 
the  education  of  a  human  being,  since  it  impresses 
itself  upon  the  child  so  forcefully  during  the  early  and 
plastic  period  of  its  Hfe,  probably  the  next  factor  in 
importance  is  that  of  companions.  Children  are  imi- 
tative and  suggestible  in  a  high  degree,  and  the  com- 
panions, the  group,  the  gang^  or  the  school  is  most 
potent  in  the  formation  of  some  kind  of  character  in 
each  individual.  There  is  safety  in  numbers,  and  es- 
pecially in  a  school  that  is  carefully  supervised  in  regard 
to  manners  and  morals.  The  greatest  danger  lies  in 
the  small  group  or  gang.  One  bad  boy  in  an  hour  can 
tear  down  more  character  than  the  home,  the  school, 
and  the  church  combined  can  build  up  in  a  whole  year. 
Hence  it  is  that  the  teacher  should  be  careful  in  regard 
to  the  play  and  the  conduct  of  children  upon  the  school- 
grounds  during  intermissions.  The  wholesome  presence 
of  the  teacher  should  restrain  evil  and  stimulate  the  good. 
The  teacher,  of  course,  should  not  be  a  too  dominant 
factor  upon  the  playground,  inhibiting  free  activities 
or  guiding  them  in  too  narrow  grooves.    While  freedom 


264  Pundamenfals  in  Methods 

should  be  allowed,  the  presence  of  the  teacher  would  be 
wholesome  and  should  even  be  stimulating  and  suggestive 
of  good  activities.  The  school  is,  for  each  individual 
child,  the  larger  world,  the  larger  selj^  and  is  social- 
izing, properly  conventionalizing,  moraUzing.  Some 
mothers  who  have  children  who  rule  the  household 
wonder  what  the  teacher  will  do  when  "  Johnny  "  goes 
to  school.  But  when  Johnny  enters,  he  is  caught  up  by 
the  spirit  of  the  school  and  the  crowd  and  is  as  meek  and 
obedient  as  a  lamb.  He  is  changed  from  a  conscious 
little  egoist  to  an  unconscious  altruist.  On  the  play- 
ground, too,  he  must  take  as  well  as  give,  and  this  is  the 
effect,  in  every  situation,  of  schoolmates,  in  the  moraliz- 
ing process. 

Habits  of  Preparation  and  Presentation.  —  The  or- 
dinary subjects  of  study  and  their  methods  of  prep- 
aration and  presentation  constitute  an  excellent  field 
for  the  teaching  of  morals.  If  a  pupil  is  taught  how  to 
prepare  a  lesson  honestly  so  as  to  acquire  the  habit  of 
studious,  consecutive,  and  thoro  work,  this  is  in  itself 
moralizing.  If,  then,  at  the  time  of  recitation  he  forms 
the  habit  of  explaining  his  work  clearly  and  intelligently 
so  that  his  recitation  as  well  as  his  preparation  will  be, 
from  first  to  last,  an  honest  expression  of  his  own  indi- 
viduality, he  will  feel  not  only  the  self-indorsement  that 
comes  from  work  faithfully  and  successfully  done,  but 
he  will  also  have  the  commendation  of  his  teacher  and 
classmates;  and  this  afterglow  of  work  well  done  has 
an  excellent  effect  in  steadying  a  person  to  honest  re- 
solves. Hence  it  is  that  in  the  preparation  and  presen- 
tation of  work  the  teacher  should  see  to  it  that  it  is  all 


The  Teaching  of  Morals  265 

moraKzing.  In  many  schools  the  work  is  not  only  dis- 
honestly prepared  but  deceitfully  presented;  and  into 
the  lives  of  children  who  are  allowed  to  work  in  this  way 
there  must  insidiously  creep  the  habit  of  sharp  practice 
and  of  slipshod  work.  The  pupil  who  habitually  copies 
from  others  and  presents  the  work  as  his  own,  and  the 
pupil  whose  aim  is  to  get  the  correct  answer  or  result  by 
whatever  means  he  can,  are  not  being  morahzed  in  the 
true  sense. 

The  Subjects  Themselves  Moralize.  —  Even  the  sub- 
ject-matter itself  of  the  different  branches  is  conducive 
to  morahty  when  prepared  and  presented  as  above  in- 
dicated. There  is  no  subject  in  the  curriculum  which 
can  not  be  made  highly  moraUzing  in  the  hands  of  an 
artist  teacher. 

{a)  Arithmetic,  for  example,  like  all  other  branches  of 
mathematics,  is  so  accurate  and  clean-cut  that  of  itself  it 
compels  a  facing  of  the  truth.  It  teaches  the  habit  of 
clear  thinking.  In  such  a  subject  as  arithmetic  there  is 
little  opportunity  for  obscurity  and  for  what  is  called 
*'  bluffing  " ;  with  the  right  kind  of  teaching  the  pupil 
must  be  honest  with  his  subject,  honest  with  himself, 
and  honest  with  his  teacher.  It  is  a  subject  in  which 
dishonesty  is  easily  caught.  Straight  and  definite  think- 
ing is  in  the  direction  of  corresponding  conduct. 

(6)  Language  study  is  a  subject  which,  of  itself,  has  a 
tendency  to  improve  the  moral  conduct  of  children  if 
effectively  taught;  for  language  is  closely  connected 
with  thought  and  feeling.  One  is  easily  judged  in  his 
thinking  and  often  in  his  conduct  by  the  words  and 
language  which  he  uses.     Thought  and  language,   as 


266  Fundamentals  m  Methods 

we  said,  are  intimately  connected,  and  where  there  is 
accurate  language  there  is  usually  accurate  thought. 
Where  thought  and  language  are  accurate  there  is  less 
room  for  dishonesty  in  the  personality.  Clear  thinking 
is  directly  conducive  to  moral  conduct ;  many  people  do 
not  do  the  right  things  because  they  can  not  think  the 
right  things ;  and  while  it  may  be  true  that  conduct  does 
not  always  come  up  to  one's  knowledge,  it  is  true,  never- 
theless, that  accurate  knowledge  is  a  concomitant  and 
a  cause  of  morality.  Socrates  went  to  the  extreme  and 
held  that  clear  thinking  is  fundamental  to  morality,  and 
Plato  called  ignorance  the  ^*  lie  of  the  soul."  In  fact 
there  are  few  subjects  which  admit  of  so  many  moral 
lessons  as  do  language  and  its  elements  —  words  and 
their  meanings.  Nearly  all  the  great  controversies  of 
the  ages  and  of  to-day  rest  upon  the  ambiguity  of  words 
and  of  language.  If  people  understood  each  other  and 
the  language  that  they  use,  there  would  be  fewer 
quarrels,  feuds,  controversies,  and  wars.  People  often 
disagree  and  quarrel  because  the  words  and  the  language 
passing  from  one  to  the  other  do  not  produce  accurate 
replicas  of  thought  in  the  minds  of  each. 

(c)  Geography,  too,  is  a  socializer  and  hence  a  morali- 
zer.  Children  become  acquainted,  if  only  in  imagination, 
with  other  places,  other  countries,  and  other  peoples. 
They  are  brought  to  know  the  manners,  the  habits,  and 
customs,  the  ideals,  and  the  modes  of  conduct  of  the 
peoples  who  live  in  other  parts  of  the  earth.  And  to 
know  other  peoples  is,  as  a  rule,  to  Hke  them.  The 
words  stranger  and  enemy  are  the  same  in  some  of  the 
ancient   languages.     Peoples   who   do   not   know   each 


The   Teaching  of  Morals  267 

other  —  who  are  strangers  —  are  enemies.  Those  Hving 
on  the  other  side  of  a  river  or  on  the  other  side  of 
a  mountain  range  have  been  enemies  only  because  they 
have  been  strangers.  Even  to-day  a  boy  from  the 
country  who  comes  into  town  is  attacked  by  other  boys 
only  because  he  is  a  stranger.  Now,  to  become  social- 
ized, to  know  other  peoples,  is,  in  large  measure,  to  be- 
come moralized ;  and  geography  is  a  subject  in  which 
children  are  or  should  be  introduced  in  a  sympathetic 
manner  to  the  various  peoples  of  the  earth,  their  man- 
ners, their  customs,  their  occupations,  and  their  stage 
of  culture. 

{£)  The  teaching  of  the  elements  of  science,  whether 
it  be  nature  study,  agriculture,  physics,  chemistry,  or 
botany,  is  inherently  moralizing,  for  it  opens  up  to 
children  the  great  realm  of  nature  and  induces  in  them 
a  profound  respect  for  truth  and  law.  Science  in  its 
various  phases  is  a  great  destroyer  of  superstition. 
The  poor  savage,  when  he  goes  forth  and  sees  a  comet  or 
other  celestial  phenomenon  which  he  does  not  under- 
stand, says  to  himself,  "  That  means  me !  "  When 
children  are  introduced  to  the  why's  and  wherefore's  in 
the  great  fields  of  nature,  there  is  elicited  in  them  a  re- 
spect for  law  and  a  sense  of  reverence  and  of  mystery  in 
it  all,  which  must  awaken  in  them  a  moral  attitude  to- 
ward hfe  and  nature.  The  philosopher  Kant  said  that 
there  were  two  things  which  always  inspired  him  with 
reverence  and  awe :  the  starry  heavens  above  and  the 
conscience  within.  If  children  could  be  inspired  in  any 
such  way  by  being  impressed  with  the  great  realm  of 
nature  and  with  the  idea  of  a  Divine  Providence  behind 


268  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

it  all,  they  are  given  an  attitude  which  is  in  the  highest 
sense  moral  and  religious. 

(e)  The  subject  of  history  is  an  excellent  one  in  which 
to  instill  into  the  minds  and  hearts  of  children  a  moral 
attitude.  Here  the  Hves  of  great  people  —  the  lives  of 
men  in  times  of  a  nation's  trial  and  in  times  of  peace  — 
are  held  up  before  them  and  they  naturally  respond  to 
the  ideals  presented.  In  the  past  the  ideals  embodied 
in  the  Hves  of  warriors  have  probably  been  altogether  too 
dominant.  There  are  heroes  of  peace  no  less  than  of  war, 
and  the  former  deserve  our  attention  and  admiration 
quite  as  much,  if  not  more,  than  the  latter.  In  the  city 
of  Richmond,  Virginia,  there  is  a  monument  erected 
^'  To  a  Good  Citizen."  If  such  monuments  were 
erected  more  generally  thruout  the  country,  such  a 
practice  would  be  in  the  right  direction ;  for  it  is 
incomparably  more  difficult  to  fight  the  battles  of  peace 
and  to  win  out  in  the  race  for  good  citizenship  than  it  is 
to  fight  the  battles  of  war.  In  history  there  is  an  ex- 
cellent opportunity  for  a  discussion  of  the  right  and 
wrong  of  every  question  and  of  the  ideals  presented  in 
the  hfe  and  character  of  every  historic  personage. 

Here  there  is  an  excellent  opportunity,  too,  to  allow 
honest  differences  of  opinion.  This  open-mindedness  and 
toleration  of  the  judgment  of  others  indicates  probably 
more  than  anything  else  the  thoroly  educated,  cul- 
tured, and  moralized  person.  In  the  study  of  history 
children  can  learn  that  another  person's  judgment  may  be 
challenged  without  in  any  way  impugning  his  motives 
or  denouncing  him  personally.  Here  the  great  lesson 
could  well  be  taught  that  a*  person's  judgment  is  not 


The  Teaching  of  Morals  269 

himself,  and  that  we  may  differ  in  this  respect  and  yet 
lose  none  of  our  love  or  respect  for  him.  This  is  difficult 
for  the  prejudiced,  the  ignorant,  and  the  intolerant  to 
understand.  But  in  the  educative  process,  sympathy, 
toleration,  and  large-mindedness  are  the  very  essence 
of  morality. 

(/)  Reading  is,  of  course,  the  great  subject  which 
furnishes  material  for  the  moralizing  of  children.  Every 
day  the  teacher  and  pupils  read  selections  that  are  real 
gems  of  thought  and  of  emotion,  and  these  selections, 
from  the  first  grade  to  the  eighth,  many  of  them  being 
memorized,  form  in  later  years  a  real  gallery  of  artistic 
pictures  hanging  upon  memory's  wall.  A  person  who 
has  such  a  collection  of  pictures  is  better  enabled  to  live 
a  happy  and  successful  life ;  for  it  would  be  vastly  easier 
to  live  in  conformity  with  the  suggestive  and  beautiful 
pictures  with  which  the  mind  is  filled.  They  build 
up  in  us  our  ideals,  and  these  grow  with  our  growth  and 
strengthen  with  our  strength.  Like  the  old  familiar 
songs,  they  remain  ever  new,  reviving  in  us  our  ideals 
and  strengthening  our  resolves.  Thus,  the  seeds  of 
morality,  sown  in  reading  and  its  subject-matter,  if  duly 
cultivated,  come  later  to  flower  and  fruit  in  good  deeds 
and  good  hves. 

Subject-matters  Ethicized.  —  In  the  Ethical  Culture 
School  in  the  city  of  New  York,  the  moral  element  in 
each  subject  of  study,  such  as  geography,  history,  science, 
reading,  etc.,  has  been  systematized  so  that  moralization 
will  be  somewhat  accented  throughout  the  school.  The 
school  is  organized  with  the  ethical  element  dominantly 
in  view,  and  it  has  exercised  the  function  of  selection  and 


270  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

rejection  in  the  content  of  every  subject.  The  school, 
owing  to  circumstances,  is  selective  and  rejective  also 
in  its  patronage.  The  whole  institution  is  permeated 
with  the  conscious  ethical  ideal.  This  is  certainly  an 
excellent  thing.  But  this  extent  of  systematized  and 
conscious  moralization  is  not  possible  in  the  schools 
thruout  the  country  for  many  reasons.  There  is  not 
sufficient  like-mindedness,  and  teaching  is  not  on  a  suffi- 
ciently high  and  professional  plane.  But  it  is  quite  pos- 
sible for  every  teacher  worthy  of  the  name  to  single 
out  and  emphasize  the  ethical  idea  and  the  moral  practice 
at  all  times  and  in  every  subject.  In  the  last  analysis 
it  is  the  kind  of  teacher  that  determines  the  kind  of 
school.  Every  teacher  in  the  public  schools  should 
keep  clearly  in  mind,  whatever  else  is  done  or  not  done, 
that  character  in  the  pupils  is,  after  all,  the  chief  aim. 
The  teacher  is  the  guide  who  is  supposed  to  have  been 
over  the  road,  to  know  the  dangers  and  pitfalls  in  the 
hves  of  children,  to  be  able  to  guide  them  carefully 
thru  such  dangers,  and  to  hold  up  before  them  the 
goal  toward  which  they  are  moving.  The  bee  gathers 
honey  and  poison  from  the  same  flowers;  and  so  the 
same  subjects,  in  their  treatment  by  the  teacher,  may 
serve  either  as  a  source  of  poison  or  of  sweetness.  The 
problem  of  seeing  to  it  that  morals  and  character  issue 
out  of  every  situation,  surely  but  silently,  should  be 
always  present  in  the  teacher's  mind  or  in  the  teacher's 
habit. 

Good  Pictures.  —  Beautiful  pictures  are  a  great  factor 
in  the  moral  education  of  children.  As  one  can  not  live 
with  a  great  personality  for  some  time  without  being 


The  Teachijig  of  Morals  271 

influenced  by  it,  neither  can  one  live  in  the  presence  of  a 
great  picture  without  being  impressed.  In  this  age 
when  the  art  of  photography  has  been  developed  to 
such  a  high  degree,  even  the  poorest  may  have 
beautiful  pictures.  There  should  be  a  few  good 
pictures  in  every  schoolroom.  Too  many  should 
be  avoided  as  it  makes  against  simpHcity;  it  is 
not  artistic  to  have  a  room  literally  cluttered  with  all 
kinds  of  pictures.  A  good  picture  serves  as  a  continual 
upHfting  suggestion.  If  ''  artists  are  nearest  God," 
really  fine  art  makes  for  Godliness.  A  school  under  the 
direction  of  a  teacher  of  good  taste  will  improve  rapidly 
and  wonderfully  in  artistic  appreciation.  If  a  child 
makes  a  picture  book  one  year,  the  next  year  he  will 
probably  eliminate  not  a  few  of  the  pictures  chosen  the 
year  before  and  replace  them  with  others  more  artistic. 
The  teacher  who  is  a  lover  of  art  could  raise  the  standard 
of  her  school  rapidly  in  their  artistic  discrimination  and 
appreciation  of  the  beautiful.  Beauty  and  goodness 
are  closely  related,  and  the  person  who  loves  the  beautiful 
will  also  usually  love  the  true  and  the  good. 

The  Influence  of  Music.  —  As  pictures  are  a  great  in- 
fluence for  good  in  the  lives  of  children,  music  is  probably 
more  truly  morahzing.  A  teacher  who  is  in  no  sense  a 
speciaUst  may  awaken  in  her  pupils  a  love  of  music  and 
cause  them  to  enter  heartily  into  the  musical  exercises. 
The  immediate  purpose  of  music  is  to  awaken  and  refine 
the  higher  feelings  and  emotions.  These  in  turn  tend 
strongly  toward  the  good.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the 
music  be  inherently  or  intentionally  bad,  it  will  conduce 
to  that  end.     But,  granted  that  music  and  song  are 


272  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

elevating  and  ennobling,  they  inevitably  result  in  more 
refinement  of  character  and  more  harmony  of  Hfe. 

It  would  be  an  excellent  plan  to  have  a  phonograph  and 
a  variety  of  good  records  in  every  school.  By  this  means 
the  pupils  may  be  accustomed  to  the  best  music.  It  will 
be  found  that  their  tastes  can  be  transformed  from  a  love 
of  the  frivolous  and  the  worthless  to  a  desire  to  hear  only 
the  finest  selections.  This  is  no  small  gain.  As  the  art 
of  photography  has  enabled  schools  to  have  copies  of 
the  finest  pictures,  so  the  phonograph  has  brought  within 
the  reach  of  all  excellent  reproductions  of  the  great 
masters  of  vocal  and  instrumental  music.  In  addition 
to  this  the  faithful  reproduction  of  the  speeches  of  some 
of  the  greatest  hving  people  may  be  heard  by  the 
children. 

The  School  Organization.  —  The  organization  of  the 
school,  with  its  rules  and  regulations  and  its  manage- 
ment generally,  is  constantly  impressing  upon  the  chil- 
dren habits  of  regularity,  punctuahty,  politeness,  truth, 
honesty,  economy,  honor,  justice,  and,  in  fact,  all  the 
virtues.  It  is  these  things  that  constitute  morality, 
and  it  is  the  ingraining  of  these  virtuous  habits  that  con- 
stitutes character.  A  pupil  is  required  by  the  rules  of 
the  school  to  be  regular  in  attendance;  he  is  made  to 
realize  that  it  is  his  duty  to  be  present  unless  he  has  a 
good  and  sufficient  reason  not  to  be.  He  learns  to  feel 
that  it  is  his  duty  to  be  there  every  day,  and  that  if  he  is 
not,  he  should  account  for  his  absence.  This  is  learning 
responsibihty.  He  is  also  made  to  feel  that  it  is  his  duty 
to  be  on  time.  In  these  matters  he  learns  a  sense  of 
justice  to  his  class,  as  well  as  duty  to  himself,  to  his 


The   Teaching  of  Morals  273 

teacher,  and  to  the  school ;  he  also  learns,  under  pressure 
of  the  school  spirit  and  without  any  direct  compulsion, 
to  be  poHte  upon  all  occasions ;  he  learns  that  veracity- 
is  necessary  and  required  and  that  falsehood  and  deceit 
have  no  place  in  the  schoolroom;  he  is  taught  to  be 
honest  with  himself,  with  his  schoolmates,  and  with  his 
teacher ;  he  is  taught  that  honor  is  to  be  highly  prized, 
and  that  no  dishonorable  thing  is  to  be  done ;  he  learns 
that  justice  is  a  great  virtue,  that  the  square  deal,  both  in 
the  schoolroom  and  on  the  playground,  is  due  to  others 
as  well  as  to  himself.  In  many  schools  a  savings-bank 
system  is  estabhshed  whereby  pupils  are  taught  econ- 
omy thru  savings.  In  all  of  these  things  virtue  is  being 
built  up  in  the  life  of  a  pupil.  The  teacher  should  recog- 
nize that  children  are  not  perfect ;  if  they  were,  it  would 
not  be  necessary  to  go  to  school.  In  the  inculcation  of 
these  virtues  the  teacher  should  practice  kindness  rather 
than  severity,  for  he  can  nourish  them  by  love  and  kill 
them  by  sternness.  When  all  these  virtues  are  carefully 
watched,  and  when  they  are  nourished  in  the  children's 
lives,  morahty  is  having  a  healthy  growth. 

Watch  for  Defacements.  —  In  carefully  guarding  the 
morals  of  the  pupils  the  teacher  should  supervise  carefully 
and  constantly  the  condition  of  the  closets  and  outbuild- 
ings. Teachers  and  school  boards  often  neglect  this. 
It  may  be  due  to  modesty,  but  if  so,  it  is  a  false  and 
culpable  "  modesty."  If  these  environments  be  not 
carefully  watched,  they  may  become  sources  of  corruption 
for  childhood.  Parents  would  prefer  to  have  their  chil- 
dren grow  up  in  their  native  wildness  without  such  so- 
called  "education"  than  to  have  their  minds  and  hearts 


274  Fundamentals  m  Methods 

befouled  and  debauched  by  the  vile  words,  pictures,  and 
insinuations  which  frequently  meet  the  eye  in  such 
places.  A  hint  to  the  wise  is  sufficient.  This  problem 
should  be  grappled  in  earnest,  and  no  teacher  and  no 
school  board  should  be  derehct  to  duty  in  these  matters ; 
for,  after  all,  it  is  character  that  is  the  chief  aim  in  educa- 
tion ;  and  a  knowledge  of  arithmetic,  grammar,  history, 
or  geography  is  a  poor  recompense  for  the  loss  of  virtue. 

By  Reading  and  Telling  Stories.  —  The  telling  of 
numerous  stories  by  the  teacher  or  the  reading  of  them 
by  the  teacher  and  by  the  pupils  may  be  made  an  im- 
portant agency  in  moral  education.  While  the  regular 
reading  lessons  may  do  much,  it  is  always  well  for  the 
teacher  to  select  some  simple  stories  and  to  read  or  tell 
them  effectively  to  the  appropriate  grade  and  at  an 
opportune  time.  These  will  sink  deeply  into  the  chil- 
dren's minds  and  hearts  and  will  bring  forth  in  their 
own  good  time,  fruitful  results.  I  need  give  here  only 
a  few  samples  of  what  I  mean : 

Down  in  the  primary  grades  such  stories  as  Little 
Red  Riding  Hood,  The  Boy  at  the  Dyke,  The  Bunch  of 
Sticks,  The  Boy  who  cried  ''  Wolf!  Wolf  I  ",  The  Dog  in 
tJte  Manger,  Adam  and  Eve,  Cain  and  Abel,  and  Noah 
and  the  Flood  might  be  told  to  the  dehght  and  moral 
edification  of  the  children.  Others  would,  of  course, 
be  selected  from  day  to  day  and  from  week  to  week  by 
the  teacher  who  is  in  vital  touch,  ethically,  with  her 
pupils.  Grimm's  Fairy  Tales  and  ^sop's  Fables  should 
be  familiar  to  the  teacher.  Such  stories  are  not  problems 
to  be  solved  and  should  not  be  analyzed  or  discussed  — 
they  are  flowers  to  be  enjoyed.     The  teacher  who  can 


The  Teaching  of  Morals  275 

tell  or  read  a  story  artistically,  sympathetically,  and 
effectively  has  a  great  power  over  children,  and  this 
means  that  both  she  and  the  story  are  transforming  in 
their  moral  influence. 

Farther  up  in  the  grades  the  teacher  should  read  or 
tell  many  of  the  heroic  incidents  of  the  Bible.  Selections 
from  literature  and  history  in  regard  to  great  patriots, 
legislators,  or  military  leaders  should  be  read  or  narrated. 
Plutarch's  Lives  should  be  read  to  the  children,  some- 
where from  the  fifth  to  the  seventh  grade.  Here  the 
whole  field  of  literature,  ancient  and  modern,  opens  up, 
and  the  teacher  who  is  a  reader  will  have  a  fund  of  illus- 
trations of  moral  significance. 

A  Collection  of  Literary  Gems.  —  In  addition  to  the 
regular  reading  lessons  and  the  teUing  of  stories  or  nar- 
ratives that  have  become  classics,  it  is  an  excellent  prac- 
tice for  the  teacher  and  the  school,  together,  to  make  a 
collection  of  favorite  literary  gems  of  thought  and  to 
express  themselves  repeatedly  in  these  selections.  These 
may  be  taken  from  any  source  whatever,  even  clipped 
from  the  daily  papers.  It  would  teach  the  children  to  be 
on  the  watch  for  good  and  beautiful  things  wherever  they 
may  occur;  it  would  also  make  them  discriminating  as 
to  what  is  worthy  and  what  is  not.  Selections  might 
be  chosen  for  consideration  on  special  occasions,  such  as 
the  Fourth  of  July,  Thanksgiving,  Christmas.  Ella 
Lyman  Cabot's  Ethics  for  Children  is  a  good  collection 
of  moralizing  selections  and  should  be  in  the  hands  of 
every  elementary  teacher. 

If  the  teacher  and  the  pupils  should  find  themselves 
coming  to  school  some  morning  in  the  midst  of  a  beautiful 


276  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

snow,  the  following  short  poem  by  John  James  Piatt 
could  appropriately  be  given.  They  would  then  make 
it  their  own,  and  would  ever  afterward  remember  it. 
They  would  also  recall  the  occasion  on  which  they  first 
made  its  acquaintance : 

The  wonderful  snow  is  falling 
Over  river  and  woodland  and  wold ; 
The  trees  bear  spectral  blossom 
In  the  moonshine,  blurred  and  cold. 

There's  a  beautiful  garden  in  Heaven, 
And  these  are  the  banished  flowers. 
Falling  and  driven  and  drifted 
Into  this  dark  world  of  ours. 

Such  memory  gems  make  an  appeal  to  our  minds  and 
hearts  that  is  especially  moralizing. 

If  the  children  live  in  a  prairie  country,  Hke  the  great 
Northwest,  I  should  select  some  day  the  Httle  poem  by 
HamHn  Garland,  called  My  Prairies^  which  runs  as 
follows : 

I  love  my  prairies,  they  are  mine 

From  zenith  to  horizon  line, 
Clipping  a  world  of  sky  and  sod 

Like  the  bended  arm  and  wrist  of  God. 

I  love  their  grasses.     The  skies 

Are  larger,  and  my  restless  eyes 
Fasten  on  more  of  earth  and  air 

Than  seashores  furnish  anjnvhere. 

I  love  the  hazel  thickets ;  and  the  breeze, 
The  never  resting  prairie  winds ;  the  trees 

That  stand  like  spear  points  high 
Against  the  dark  blue  sky, 


The   Teaching  of  Morals  277 

Are  wonderful  to  me.    J  love  the  gold 

Of  newly  shaven  stubble,  rolled 
A  royal  carpet,  towards  the  sun,  fit  to  be 

The  pathway  of  a  deity. 

I  love  the  life  of  pasture  lands ;  the  songs  of  birds 
Are  not  more  thrilling  to  me  than  the  herd's 

Mad  bellowing  or  the  shadow  stride 
Of  mounted  herdsmen  at  my  side. 

I  love  my  prairies,  they  are  mine 

From  high  sun  to  horizon  line. 
The  mountains  and  the  cold  gray  sea 

Are  not  for  me,  are  naught  to  me. 

Mary  D.  McFadden's  Evening  on  the  Prairies  would 
be  an  interesting  companion  poem  to  the  above.  The 
Calf  Path,  by  Sam  Walter  Foss,  and  The  Heavy  Past, 
by  Sidney  Lanier,  are  two  poems  which  illustrate  the 
same  moral  lesson  of  slavish  imitation,  the  former 
rather  humorously  and  the  latter  seriously  and  inspira- 
tionally.  John  Boyle  O'Reilly's  What  is  the  Real  Good  ? 
and  James  Foley's  Town  of  No-Good  on  the  River  Slow 
are  examples  of  choice  little  poems  that  would  serve  as 
artistic  moral  lessons. 

For  patriotic  selections  might  be  mentioned  The 
Flower  of  Liberty ^  by  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes ;  Scott's 
Love  of  Country;  Lincoln's  Gettysburg  Address;  and 
Kipling's  The  White  Man^s  Burden.  In  connection  with 
the  reading  of  Lincoln's  Gettysburg  Address ,  the  Httle 
pamphlet  entitled  A  Perfect  Tribute,  by  Mary  Raymond 
Shipman  Andrews,  should  be  read.  Supplementary 
contributions  to  any  poem  or  selection  under  considera- 
tion should  never  be  neglected  when  they  are  available. 


278  FMndamentals  in  Methods 

First,  Prepare  the  Soil.  —  Before  the  farmer  sows  the 
seed  he  carefully  prepares  the  soil;  and  when  the  seed 
is  sown,  he  gives  the  young  plants  careful  cultivation 
in  every  way  possible.  So  it  should  be  with  the  teacher 
in  planting  the  moral  seed  thoughts  which  are  found  in 
beautiful  selections.  The  minds  of  the  children  should 
first  be  prepared  for  the  reception  of  the  story;  the 
teacher  should  give  the  pupils,  in  an  informal  way,  the 
background  of  the  selection,  so  that  when  it  is  told  or 
read,  it  will  find  an  appreciative  response  in  the  minds 
and  experiences  of  the  children. 

Favorite  Maxims.  —  Another  excellent  way  of  incul- 
cating good  morals  is  to  have  a  Ust  of  what  may  be 
termed  "  favorite  maxims."  These  will  be  memorized 
on  one  hearing,  and  can  never  be  forgotten.  They  are 
pithy  sentences,  each  of  which  contains  a  great  moral 
lesson ;  and  they  will  arise  in  one's  thoughts  as  excellent 
illustrative  material  on  all  occasions  in  life.  When 
we  illustrate  our  thoughts  by  using  such  maxims,  we  give 
ourselves  an  impulse  in  their  direction.  I  give  only  a 
few  which  may  be  added  to  indefinitely  by  the  teacher 
and  the  pupils.  None  should  be  admitted  to  the  ac- 
cepted list  unless  they  are  truly  worthy : 

1.  Cleanliness  is  next  to  Godliness. 

2.  Habit  is  ten  times  nature. 

3.  A  good  name  is  better  than  a  good  face. 

4.  The  wages  of  sin  is  death. 

5.  Order  is  heaven's  first  law. 

6.  Birds  of  a  feather  flock  together. 

7.  Nothing  is  so  base  as  ingratitude. 

8.  Straws  show  which  way  the  wind  blows. 

9.  All  looks  yellow  to  the  jaundiced  eye. 


The  Teaching  of  Morals  279 

10.  It  is  never  too  late  to  mend. 

11.  It  is  always  too  late  to  be  what  you  might  have  been. 

12.  Opportunity  is  always  knocking  at  our  doors. 

13.  Before  honor  is  humility. 

Short  Biographies.  —  Biography  is  a  great  source  of 
moral  teaching ;  for  ideals  are  thus  held  up  before  us. 

"Lives  of  great  men  all  remind  us 
We  can  make  our  lives  sublime." 

Emerson  says,  "  Hitch  your  wagon  to  a  star."  The  short 
and  simple  biographies  of  great  characters  become 
guiding  stars;  they  are  all  important  to  children,  and 
lead  them  on.  They  embody  the  human  element 
to  such  an  extent  and  in  such  a  way  that  children  are 
deeply  interested  in  them.  The  subjects  of  these  biog- 
raphies are  like  themselves.  They  have  had  their 
childhood  and  youth,  their  weaknesses  and  their  strength ; 
and  so  the  biographies  of  the  men  who  have  won  renown 
upon  the  field  of  battle,  in  legislative  halls,  in  literature, 
and  in  art  should  be  read  and  re-read.  The  lives  of 
men  and  women  who  have  Uved  for  the  happiness  and 
succor  of  others,  Uke  Florence  Nightingale,  Frances 
Willard,  Jane  Addams,  and  George  Peabody,  should 
not  be  overlooked.  These  would  be  powerful  influences 
in  the  lives  of  pupils. 

The  School  Spirit.  —  One  of  the  greatest  moral  in- 
fluences in  the  life  of  children  is  that  intangible  some- 
thing called  the  "  spirit,"  or  the  "  atmosphere,"  of  the 
school.  It  is  that  condition  that  prevails  when  every- 
thing moves  smoothly,  when  no  discords  are  felt,  when 
there  is  an  atmosphere  of  mutual  love  and  respect 


28o  Pundamentals  in  Methods 

between  the  teacher  and  the  pupils ;  when  the  latter  are 
in  such  a  condition  that  they  are  highly  suggestible  and 
will  do,  without  hesitation,  what  the  teacher  intimates. 
Such  an  atmosphere  or  spirit  transforms  the  pupils  in 
harmony  with  it.  It  is  socializing,  morahzing.  Thought 
and  feehng,  Kke  water,  seek  a  level,  and  they  are  con- 
stantly leveling  up  toward  a  great  teacher. 

Self -assumed  Law.  —  When  all  the  foregoing  condi- 
tions prevail,  the  pupils  begin  to  take  laws  upon  them- 
selves ;  that  is,  they  begin  to  be  self-governing.  There 
is  nothing  more  hopeful,  as  there  is  nothing  more  pleas- 
ant, either  to  the  teacher  or  to  the  parent,  than  to  see 
children  assume  laws  in  accordance  with  which  they  are 
to  govern  themselves.  This  is  really  the  goal  of  the 
school.  When  children  move  in  the  direction  of  self- 
government  ;  that  is,  when  they  take  upon  themselves 
laws  to  protect  themselves  against  themselves,  they  are 
already  well-nigh  moralized,  and  indeed  educated,  in 
the  true  sense.  The  end  and  aim  of  education  is  to  turn 
out  self-governing,  moralized,   efficient   human  beings. 

Morals  in  the  Public  Schools.  —  It  is  frequently 
charged  that  there  is  a  lack  of  morality  and  of  its  teaching 
in  the  public  schools.  Such  a  charge  is  usually  made  by 
two  classes;  viz.  those  who  are  chronic  faultfinders, 
whose  minds  tend  to  destructive  criticism,  and  who 
belong  to  that  class  who  stand  around  and  ask  why  it  is 
not  done  some  other  way ;  and,  secondly,  those  who  have 
selfish  interests  to  further  and  who  feel  that  the  public 
free  schools  are  impeding  those  interests  and  their  own 
ambitions.  The  fact  is  that  there  are  no  schools  so 
thoroly  moralizing  as  those  of  the  great  public  school 


The   Teaching  of  Morals  281 

system.  Here  the  teachers  are  not,  as  in  private  schools, 
subject  to  the  whimsical  beck  and  call  of  individual 
patrons.  In  private  schools  the  teacher  is  subservient 
to  the  masters,  who  are  the  supporters  of  the  school. 
She  works  for  them.  In  the  public  school  the  teacher 
is  an  officer  of  the  state  and  not  a  servant  of  a  caste  or 
clique.  The  great  State  stands  back  of  her;  and  if 
there  is  one  place  where  children  who  fear  neither  God 
nor  parents  outside  the  school  have  to  submit  to  the 
moralizing  processes  indicated  in  the  preceding  pages, 
it  is  the  public  schoolroom.  The  public  school  has 
been  called  "  Godless,"  but  if  religion  pure  and  undefiled 
is  proper  conduct  and  justice  and  kindness  to  others, 
the  public  schoolroom  is  one  of  the  most  Godly  of  places. 
There  is,  it  is  true,  less  teaching  of  abstract,  metaphysi- 
cal, and  denominational  religion  there,  but  as  a  conse- 
quence there  is  more  genuineness  and  less  hypocrisy. 
The  highest  religious  ideals  are  assumed  and  granted  by 
the  public  schools;  just  as  these  are  assumed  by  our 
government  and  our  poh'tical  and  social  life.  The 
public  schools  are  anything  but  Godless  or  immoral  in 
their  ideals  and  motives,  in  their  tendency,  or  in  their 
results. 


CHAPTER  XX 

THE   SPECIAL  SUBJECTS 

The  School,  a  Sample  of  Real  Life.  —  There  are  several 
subjects  which  have  become  very  popular  in  recent  years 
and  which  have  been  introduced  quite  extensively  into 
the  elementary  school.  Some  of  them  have  what  might 
be  called  a  vocational  bearing,  and  all  of  them  are  ex- 
tremely valuable  in  making  a  vital  connection  between 
the  school  as  it  has  existed  in  the  past  and  life  as  we  now 
find  it  all  around  us.  The  charge  has  frequently  been 
made  that  the  school  and  Hfe  are  entirely  separate  and 
that  the  former  does  not  prepare  to  any  extent  for  the 
latter.  Dr.  John  Dewey,  a  few  years  ago,  wrote  a  valu- 
able and  timely  little  work  called  The  School  and 
Society,  in  which  he  maintains  that  the  activities  of 
the  school  are  not  typical  of  those  outside.  The  school, 
he  maintained,  should  be  only  a  sample,  or  cross  section, 
of  real  life  and  of  the  Ufe  of  the  child. 

The  Newer  Subjects.  —  The  subjects  alluded  to  above 
are  music,  drawing,  nature  study,  agriculture,  domestic 
science,  and  manual  training.  These  are  usually  taught 
by  special  teachers,  but  for  the  convenience  and  help  of 
the  general  teacher,  whether  in  the  rural  school  or  in  the 
town  or  city,  we  give,  all  in  one  chapter,  a  brief  discus- 
sion of  each,  and  some  specific  directions  that  may  point 
the  way  and  guard  against  pitfalls  and  dangers  in  the 
method  and  procedure  of  the  teacher  in  regard  to  them. 

282 


The  Special  Subjects  283 

I.  Music 

Importance.  —  Music  is,  without  doubt,  one  of  the 
most  valuable  subjects  of  study  and  of  practice  in  the 
education  and  culture  of  a  human  being.  It  is  funda- 
mentally the  expression  of  the  emotions,  and  good  music 
awakens  and  ennobles  this  part  of  our  nature.  More- 
over, the  feelings  are  the  greatest  motives  in  conduct  and 
life,  and  hence  the  necessity  of  developing  and  of  control- 
ling them.  A  human  being  nearly  always  acts  on  account 
of  his  likes  and  dislikes,  his  feeling  and  emotions,  and 
hardly  ever  from  the  mere  dictates  of  his  reason.  We 
may  flatter  ourselves  that  we  do  thus  and  so,  for  reasons; 
but  deeper  down,  below  the  reason,  will  be  found,  in  nine 
cases  out  of  ten,  a  motive  in  desire  and  feeling.  It 
was  Professor  James  who  said,  ^'  What  is  the  use  of 
reason  if  we  cannot  give  reasons  for  what  we  wish?  " 
And  it  frequently  happens  that  after  a  person  has  given 
various  reasons  for  doing  or  not  doing  a  certain  thing  it 
is  evident  to  all  others  that  his  fundamental  motive  lies 
in  his  desires. 

An  Advantage  in  School  Government.  —  Conse- 
quently, one  who  can  teach  music,  and,  better  still,  who 
can  sing  soulfully  and  induce  others  to  participate,  has 
a  great  advantage,  a  great  leverage,  in  the  government 
and  discipline  of  a  school.  If  a  teacher  is  able  to  open 
her  school  in  the  morning  by  a  rousing  song  in  which  all 
heartily  join,  the  government  of  her  school  will  be  easier 
thruout  the  day.  And  it  is  incomparably  better  to 
end  the  school  day  with  a  good  song,  in  which  all  will 
heartily  join,   thus  sending    the   pupils    home  with    a 


284  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

feeling  of  harmony,  than  to  close  with  injunctions,  pro- 
hibitions, advice,  or  scolding.  A  singing  exercise,  both 
at  the  beginning  and  at  the  end  of  the  day,  in  which 
all  freely  participate  will  be  remembered  in  future  years 
when  the  specific  lessons  in  grammar,  in  arithmetic,  or  in 
geography  will  have  been  forgotten. 

Not  Merely  Formal.  —  Whatever  the  detailed  methods 
of  teaching  music  may  be,  pupils  should  not  be  kept  too 
long  on  the  merely  formal  aspect  of  it.  When  children 
are  learning  to  play  on  the  piano,  they  wish  to  play 
something  as  soon  as  possible;  and  when  children  are 
learning  to  read  music  and  to  sing,  they  wish  also  to  sing 
something.  To  keep  children  too  long  merely  playing 
scales  or  practicing  notes  is  likely  to  paralyze,  if  it  does 
not  kill,  the  musical  impulse  and  spirit.  Here  as  else- 
where the  tool  should  be  used  in  something  worth  while 
as  soon  as  possible. 

Not  a  Merely  Feminine  Subject.  —  There  is  need  in 
America  of  a  real  musical  renaissance.  The  sentiment 
is  quite  prevalent  among  boys  that  music  is  distinctively 
a  feminine  acquisition.  Such  a  delusion  should  be  dis- 
pelled, and  the  elementary  schools  of  the  country  should 
take  the  lead  in  the  disillusionment. 

Should  not  be  Discredited.  —  AccompHshments  in 
music,  vocal  and  instrumental,  have  been  discredited  by 
some  high  schools  and  colleges.  A  young  person  may 
have  spent  years  in  voice  training  and  vocal  music  or  on 
the  piano  or  violin,  but  this  has  been  considered  of  Httle 
or  no  educational  value  in  the  traditional  curriculum  of 
the  school  or  college.  What  a  commentary  on  our  con- 
ception of  educational  values ! 


The  Special  Subjects  285 

The  Proper  Procedure.  —  In  beginning  the  teaching 
of  music  it  would  be  advisable  to  secure  some  good  songs 
which  would  recall  the  living  experiences  of  the  pupils. 
These  could  and  should  be  taught  by  rote.  Children 
should  learn  to  enjoy  singing  as  an  expression  of  their 
lives  before  the  technical  details  of  notation  are  pre- 
sented. Notation  should  not  be  presented  till  the 
pupils  have  become  acquainted  with  the  musical  ele- 
ments to  which  names  are  then  given,  such  as  rhythm 
and  pitch.  As  everywhere  else  the  real  thing  should 
precede  the  symbol  or  the  name. 

What  to  Avoid  and  Emphasize.  —  Songs  and  music 
that  are  too  difficult  from  a  musical  point  of  view  should 
be  avoided.  This  caution  obtains  not  only  in  regard  to 
songs,  the  words  of  which  do  not  find  a  response  in  the 
life  experiences  of  the  children,  but  also  to  those  musical 
compositions  which  are  altogether  too  classical  and  too 
difficult  of  appreciation  for  any  but  the  musically  trained. 
Music  should  be  developed  as  one  of  the  natural  forms  of 
expression.  While  music  and  song  should  always  be 
such  as  to  elevate  and  refine  the  emotions  of  childhood, 
they  should  also  be  within  the  range  of  the  children's 
appreciation  and  liking,  so  that  they  will  enter  into  the 
expression  in  a  whole-souled  manner.  Musical  notation 
is  only  a  means  to  this  natural  expression  of  life.  In 
the  teaching  of  music  the  rhythm  and  the  phrase  should 
be  emphasized  as  the  unit  —  the  sentence  rather  than 
the  word. 

Materials  and  Equipment.  —  In  the  grades  of  the  city 
school  an  appropriate  series  of  books  will,  of  course,  be 
used.     Music    should    be    graded    just    as    is    reading, 


286  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

arithmetic,  or  any  other  subject.  Herein  Hes  the  diffi- 
culty in  the  rural  school.  But  even  here  a  teacher  of 
tact  can  make  a  combination  of  the  rote  singing  of  the 
old  familiar  and  ever  enjoyable  songs  with  lessons  on 
musical  study  and  notation  which  will  put  the  pupils  in 
possession  of  the  musical  tool.  The  reading  of  music 
is  analogous  to  the  reading  of  English  —  it  is  acquiring 
the  ability  to  gather  and  to  appreciate  the  musical 
content  by  means  of  the  symbols.  A  piano  or  organ  and 
a  phonograph  should  be  a  part  of  the  school  equipment. 
If  a  lively  interest  in  music  be  generated  in  the  school 
and  the  neighborhood,  there  will  be  little  difficulty  in 
securing  these  instruments,  either  from  the  school  board 
or  by  means  of  entertainments  given  by  the  school,  to 
which  a  nominal  admission  is  charged.  Voluntary 
subscriptions  will  not  be  lacking  under  good  leadership. 
The  Aim. — The  chief  aim  of  musical  study  and  musi- 
cal expression  is  the  development  of  character  thru  the 
refining  and  the  ennobling  of  the  emotional  nature. 
It  is  chiefly  thru  this  side  of  our  nature,  as  we  said, 
that  we  are  all  motived  in  our  lives  and  conduct.  The 
special  and  technical  aim  should  be  to  read  music  intelli- 
gently.    Herein  it  is  similar  to  the  reading  of  EngHsh. 

II.   Drawing  and  Art 

The  Danger  of  Formalism.  —  Drawing,  also,  in  its 
various  phases,  including  as  much  of  color  work  and  art 
generally  as  is  possible  under  the  circumstances,  is  a 
most  important  subject.  Too  frequently,  it  is  true,  it 
remains  a  formal,  perfunctory,  deadening  exercise,  just 
as  writing  does.     This  subject  used  to  be  taught  chiefly 


The  Special  Subjects  287 

by  means  of  drawing  books,  just  as  was  the  case  with 
writing,  by  means  of  copy  books.  The  drawing  was 
merely  copying  the  specified  figures  and  forms  in  the 
books.     There  was  no  element  of  art  or  of  Hfe  in  it. 

Drawing,  like  music,  should  be  an  expression  of  the 
personahty.  As  singing  is  an  artistic  vocal  expression, 
so  drawing,  in  order  to  be  artistic,  should  be  an  expres- 
sion, in  form,  of  the  beautiful.  The  artistic  impulses  are 
in  every  normal  human  being;  but  they  need  to  be 
awakened  and  cultivated  in  order  that  they  may  come 
to  flower   and   fruit. 

Content  Needed.  —  As  the  study  of  music  should  soon 
result  in  the  playing  of  tunes  or  the  singing  of  songs,  so 
drawing  should  rapidly  progress  into  the  attempt  at  the 
artistic  expression  of  the  beautiful  as  it  exists  all  around 
us.  If  a  person  has  had  "  drawing,"  so-called,  for 
several  years,  and  can  not  step  up  to  a  blackboard  and 
represent,  in  reasonably  accurate  and  artistic  form,  the 
beautiful  as  it  exists  in  flower,  bird,  animal,  or  man,  it  is 
of  httle  use  to  him  or  to  anyone  else ;  it  has  never  ripened. 
The  teacher  who  can  express  in  the  presence  of  his  pupils 
the  beautiful  as  it  exists  all  around  him,  and  who  can 
elicit  in  them  both  the  desire  and  the  abiHty  to  do  the 
same,  has,  like  the  teacher  of  music,  a  wonderful  advan- 
tage over  the  teacher  who  has  no  such  accomplishment. 

The  Aim. —  The  aim  of  drawing  and  art  work  generally 
is  the  development  of  one  phase,  and  that  a  most  impor- 
tant one,  of  the  hfe  and  capacity  of  the  normal  child. 
This  cultivation  should  conduce,  among  other  things, 
to  greater  accuracy  of  observation,  a  better  visual 
memory,  a  love  of  the  beautiful,  power  to  express  it, 


288  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

manual  skill,  originality,  neatness,  order,  and  some 
knowledge  of  the  well-known  works  of  art. 

The  Equipment.  —  As  is  the  case  in  every  subject  of 
study,  good  results  can  not  be  secured  in  drawing  and 
art  unless  the  teacher  and  the  pupils  have  the  necessary 
materials  and  equipment.  A  science  teacher  can  not  do 
justice  to  his  pupils  unless  he  has  adequate  laboratory 
facilities.  Drawing  and  art  work,  generally,  are  essen- 
tially laboratory  subjects.  As  the  name  impHes,  the 
doing  is  their  very  essence.  To  attempt  to  teach  such 
subjects  by  talking  ahoui  them  or  without  the  various 
materials  needed  for  the  pupils  is  simply  to  spoil  the  sub- 
ject and  destroy  a  taste  for  art  in  the  pupils  themselves. 
The  following  specific  mention  of  some  of  the  materials 
needed  may  indicate  the  range  and  variety  of  supphes 
necessary  to  good  work  in  the  field  of  visual  art  and  de- 
sign : 

1.  Paper  of  various  kinds  and  colors  for  design,  con- 
struction, mounting,  water  color,  crayon,  ink,  and  pencil, 
as  designated  by  any  good  manual  on  this  subject. 

2.  For  water-color  work :  Prang's  water-color  box 
No.  3  A  (containing  red,  blue,  yellow,  and  black),  pan, 
and  cloth. 

3.  For  crayon  work :  Prang's  Crayonex  No.  3  (with 
eight  colors). 

4.  For  construction :   scissors,  paste,  and  rubbers. 
Care  of  Materials.  —  All  materials  should  be  handled 

in  a  systematic  and  orderly  way.  The  teacher  should 
care  for  the  paper  and  distribute  it  at  the  beginning  of 
each  lesson ;  she  should  plan  the  size,  to  avoid  waste. 
Scissors  and  materials  used  in  construction  should  be  in 


The  Special  Subjects  289 

her  keeping.  The  children  might  care  for  their  own 
paint  boxes.  Pencils  and  crayon  should  be  collected 
at  the  end  of  each  lesson. 

Topics.  —  The  following  topics  in  art  education  are 
suggested  to  indicate  the  range  of  the  work.  These 
would  be  developed  and  presented  as  the  pupils  and  the 
grades  demand : 

(i)  Nature  work,  (2)  Object  drawing,  (3)  Design, 
(4)  Color  study,  (5)  Construction,  (6)  Pose,  (7)  Land- 
scape, (8)  Illustration,  (9)  Picture  study,  and  (10)  Per- 
spective. In  the  presentation  of  these,  the  more  natural 
and  real  the  situation  and  the  work,  the  better. 

Sources  of  Information  and  Supplies.  —  It  would  be 
advisable  for  the  teacher  to  have  the  catalogs  of  the 
Prang  Company,  Chicago;  The  Milton  Bradley  Com- 
pany, Springfield,  Massachusetts;  Thomas  Charles, 
Chicago;  Metzer  &  Grover,  Boston;  and  to  write  the 
Waldcraft  Company,  IndianapoUs,  Indiana,  in  regard 
to  dies,  blocks,  and  stencil  materials. 

III.   Nature  Study 

Importance.  —  Nature  study,  so-called,  is  another 
interesting  and,  indeed,  fascinating  subject.  Nature  is 
full  of  beauty  —  in  stone,  in  leaf,  in  flower,  in  bird,  and 
in  animal.  The  school  Hfe  of  the  child,  too,  is  the  period 
when  the  senses  are  most  widely  awake  and  when  ob- 
servation is  naturally  keenest.  Consequently,  this  is 
the  period  when  all  the  senses  could  most  easily  be  culti- 
vated and  habituated  to  become  keenly  observant  of 
the  ways  and  of  the  beauties  of  nature.  A  teacher  who 
has  some  knowledge  of  nature  in  her  various  forms  has 
u 


290  Fundame7itals  in  Methods 

here  also  a  great  advantage  over  the  teacher  who  has 
no  such  abiHty.  AH  children  like  to  know  the  names 
and  the  ways  of  the  things  of  life  around  them.  Flowers, 
insects,  birds,  and  beasts  arrest  attention  and  enlist 
their  interest.  When  these  are  once  awakened,  the 
problem  of  school  discipHne  is  solved.  And  when  the 
right  atmosphere  and  spirit  are  thus  generated,  pupils 
become  highly  suggestible,  and  the  instruction  of  the 
teacher  becomes  acceptable.  When  this  mutual  cor- 
diality prevails  between  teacher  and  pupils,  the  educa- 
tional process  is  most  natural  and  effective.  Nature 
study  is  a  large  factor  in  generating  such  a  spirit  and 
atmosphere. 

Not  Microscopic.  —  Nature  study  should  be  the  ob- 
servation and  investigation  of  things  in  the  large.  If  it 
descend  to  the  microscope  and  the  dissecting  knife  as 
its  chief  means,  it  is  doomed.  Many  teachers  kill  all 
interest  in  nature  study  by  being  too  ''  scientific,"  by 
having  pupils  live  and  move  in  a  microscopic  world 
rather  than  in  the  ordinary  world  of  the  senses.  They 
forget  that  all  children  begin  with  things  as  wholes,  and 
proceed  by  study  and  analysis  to  the  elements.  Scien- 
tists arrive  at  the  elements  after  long  study  and  ex- 
perience ;  but  to  have  children  begin  where  the  teacher  is, 
is  an  old  and  vicious  practice  of  the  schoolroom. 

The  Aim.  —  The  aim  of  this  subject  should  be  to  cul- 
tivate an  enthusiastic  interest  in  nature,  to  develop  an 
inteUigent  appreciation  of  her  wonders  and  a  capacity 
to  enjoy  her  varied  charms  and  her  wonderful  art.-  It 
should  train  the  pupil  in  accurate  observation  and 
correct  interpretation  of  his  natural  environment,  and 


The  Special  Subjects  291 

should  tend  to  careful,  attentive,  and  accurate  generaliza- 
tions. In  connection  with  the  subject  the  child  is  trained 
in  accurate  description  and  in  the  making  of  illustrative 
drawings  to  assist  his  language. 

First-hand  Knowledge.  —  In  nature  study  the  child 
should  get  an  increasingly  accurate  knowledge  of  his 
physical  environment.  Such  first-hand  knowledge  is 
vastly  superior  to  information  gathered  from  books,  for 
it  is  actual,  concrete  experience  and  not  the  faint  copy 
so  often  secured  from  the  mere  symbols.  It  is  of  great 
value  as  a  basis  for  the  interpretation  of  other  studies. 
Perhaps  the  most  important  consideration  here  is  the 
formation  of  the  habit  of  learning  directly  from  nature, 
not  only  by  observing  her  in  her  more  usual  aspects,  but 
also  by  putting  our  questions  to  her  in  the  form  of  ex- 
periments and  then  noting  results. 

Specific  Subject-matters.  —  Specifically,  this  study 
should  give  the  child  the  ability  to  recognize  and  name 
a  variety  of  trees,  shrubs,  flowers,  grains,  grasses, 
vegetables,  weeds,  domestic  animals,  and  wild  animals, 
including  birds  and  insects.  It  should  make  him 
acquainted  with  the  habits,  Hfe  history,  economic  and 
aesthetic  value,  and  the  harmful  nature  of  many  of 
these. 

SOME  SOURCE  REFERENCES 

Wilson  :  Nature  Study  in  Elementary  Schools  (The  Macmillan  Co.). 
Cummings:  Nature  Study  by  Grades,  Teacher^ s  Book  (American 

Book  Co.). 
Coulter  and  Patterson:   Practical  Nature  Study  (Appleton). 
Jackman :   Nature  Study  (Henry  Holt  &  Co.). 
Long:   Wood  Folk  at  School  (Ginn  &  Co.). 


292  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

IV.   Agriculture 

The  Nation  Awakens  to  its  Importance.  —  The  sub- 
ject of  agriculture  is  one  which  has  been  receiving  a  great 
deal  of  attention  within  the  last  few  years.  It  is  being 
reahzed  everywhere  that  agriculture  is  the  foundation 
of  our  national  prosperity,  for  agriculture  is  the  source 
of  most  of  the  products  which  sustain  life.  It  is  being 
realized  more  and  more,  too,  that  the  cities  have  grown 
in  population  much  more  rapidly  than  the  country ;  that, 
as  a  consequence,  the  consumers  are  increasing  in  number 
out  of  all  proportion  to  the  producers;  and  hence  we 
have  the  "  high  cost  of  Hving."  The  national  realization 
of  this  condition  has  resulted  in  an  agitation  in  behalf 
of  the  teaching  of  agriculture  in  all  grades  of  schools 
thruout  the  country.  Every  state  and  the  nation  itself 
has  just  awakened  to  the  importance  of  this  subject. 

Competent  Teachers  Needed.  —  The  teaching  of 
agriculture  is  somewhat  fruitless  in  most  places,  for  the 
number  of  teachers  who  have  sufficient  knowledge  of  the 
subject  and  experience  in  farm  Hfe  is  as  yet  very  limited. 
If  a  person  has  to  study  arithmetic  for  six  or  eight  years 
in  order  to  be  able  to  teach  it,  how  is  it  possible  to  give 
a  closely  knit  and  consecutive  course  in  the  great  field 
of  agriculture  and  its  allied  sciences  and  arts  after  a 
comparatively  brief  study  of  a  textbook  in  this  subject  ? 
It  is  the  superficial  treatment  of  this  subject  that  is  to 
be  feared.  It  is  true,  of  course,  that  when  new  sub- 
jects are  first  introduced  into  the  school  curriculum,  we 
must  take  such  teachers  as  are  available.  It  is  poor 
teaching   in    the   new    subjects    that    discredits    them. 


The  Special  Subjects  293 

We  allow  and  accept  teaching  in  agriculture  which  would 
not  be  tolerated  for  a  moment  in  Latin,  algebra,  or 
geometry. 

Poor  teaching,  in  the  transition  stage,  may  perhaps 
be  excusable  in  view  of  the  future.  It  may  be  a  neces- 
sary stage  in  the  development  of  the  subject  or  in  the 
progress  of  professional  preparation.  But  the  pupils 
must  suffer.  When  a  subject  is  made  distasteful,  pupils 
may  be  injured  instead  of  benefited  by  it.  It  is  to  be 
hoped,  however,  that  courses  in  the  teaching  of  agri- 
culture will  increase  in  number  and  in  richness  and 
that  this  subject  will  soon  be  taught  as  efficiently  as 
any  other. 

What  to  Avoid.  —  The  teacher  should  not  give  her 
pupils  the  impression  that  in  the  city  it  is  not  necessary 
for  people  to  work  hard  and  that  there  a  life  of  ease  and 
of  pleasure  awaits  everybody.  She  should  not  continu- 
ally and  exclusively  hold  up  for  the  admiration  of  her 
pupils  the  career  of  politicians,  military  heroes,  profes- 
sional men,  and  captains  of  industry,  to  the  disadvan- 
tage of  the  more  prosaic  life  on  the  farm. 

Rural  Life  in  the  Proper  Sight.  —  The  teacher,  whether 
in  the  city  or  the  country,  should,  on  the  contrary, 
cultivate  an  attitude  of  respect  for  the  farmer's  calling 
and  Ufe  and  an  appreciation  of  its  many  advantages. 
The  school  should  create  and  foster  an  interest  in  the 
problems  of  farm  crops,  live  stock,  and  farm  manage- 
ment, and  in  the  betterment  of  social  and  educational 
conditions  and  of  farm  Hfe  in  general.  To  aid  in  foster- 
ing this  friendly  spirit  toward  the  farm,  the  school  should 
give    some    acquaintance    with    books,    bulletins,    and 


294  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

periodical  literature  which  deal  with  agriculture  and 
rural  life  and  which  will  cultivate  an  interest  in  these. 

Some  Specific  Topics.  —  More  specifically,  the  school 
should  give  some  knowledge  of  the  different  kinds  of  soil, 
the  importance  of  humus  and  of  fertilizers,  the  purposes 
of  cultivation,  the  need  of  diversification  and  crop  rota- 
tion, and  the  conservation  of  moisture  and  of  fertihty. 

It  should  also  give  some  acquaintance  with  a  good 
variety  of  farm  animals,  crops,  vegetables,  trees,  shrubs, 
flowers,  and  the  relative  merits  of  each,  particularly 
such  as  may  be  found  in  the  vicinity.  Pupils  should 
also  learn  about  the  enemies  of  the  farm,  such  as  weeds, 
the  common  plant  and  animal  diseases,  insect  pests, 
and  methods  of  treatment. 

Farmstead  Conveniences.  —  The  school  should  also 
cultivate  an  interest  in  good  plans  for  the  farmstead, 
and  should  give  some  knowledge  of  these,  including  the 
location  of  the  buildings,  a  windbreak,  grove,  orchard, 
ornamental  shrubs,  and  a  vegetable  and  flower  garden ; 
likewise  the  chief  conveniences  needed  to  make  the  farm 
home  more  sanitary,  convenient,  comfortable,  and  pleas- 
ant, such  as  water  supply,  sewage  system,  bath  and  toilet 
room,  heating  and  Kghting  systems.  The  aim  should  be 
to  make  children  famiUar  with  the  essentials  of  a  good 
farm  home,  a  home  that  the  farmer's  family  may 
reasonably  be  expected  to  love. 

REFERENCE  BOOKS 

King :   The  Soil  (The  Macmillan  Co.). 
Wilkinson  :  Practical  Agriculture  (American  Book  Co.). 
Bailey:  Principles  of  Agriculture  (The  Macmillan  Co.). 
Goodrich  :  First  Book  of  Farming  (Doubleday,  Page  &  Co.). 


The  Special  S^ibjects  295 

Liggett :   Rural  School  Agriculture  (McGill-Warner  Co.,  St.  Paul). 
Warren:  Elements  of  Agriculture  (The  Macmillan  Co.). 
Weed :  Farm  Friends  and  Farm  Foes  (D.  C.  Heath  &  Co.). 
Fisher  and  Cotton  :  Agriculture  for  Common  Schools  (Scribner). 
Upham:  An  Introduction  to  Agriculture  (Appleton). 


V.   Domestic  Science,  or  Home  Economics 

Its  Value.  —  Domestic  Science  is  another  of  the  new 
subjects  introduced  into  most  schools  within  the  last 
few  years.  This  is  fraught  with  much  promise.  There 
seems  to  be  no  reason  why  girls  should  not  acquire  —  in 
school,  if  not  at  home  —  a  proficiency  in  both  the  science 
and  the  art  of  housekeeping  and  home-making.  Like 
most  other  subjects,  it  has  had  to  fight  its  way  into 
the  schools,  but  at  last  it  has  won  the  "  right  of  domicile  " 
alongside  of  the  old-Hne  branches.  Like  many  of  the 
newer  subjects,  it  has  often  been  discredited,  being 
charged  with  being  merely  a  bread-and-butter  subject. 
But  while  bread  and  butter  is  not  the  only  end  in  Ufe, 
it  is  at  least  one  aim  of  the  majority  of  people.  There 
is  no  reason  why  a  subject  which  is  directly  practical  in 
life  and  in  Hving  should  not  be  at  the  same  time  educative 
and  cultural  if  presented  in  the  right  way  and  by  the 
right  kind  of  teacher.  Our  schools  have  been  under  a 
strange  obsession,  fostered  by  an  erroneous  idea  of 
"  culture,"  that  a  mere  show  of  a  foreign  language  or  a 
study  of  ancient  Egyptian  art,  for  example,  is  educative 
for  girls  but  that  the  science  and  the  art  most  essential 
to  the  home  and  the  family  are  not. 

The  Aim.  —  The  aim  in  the  teaching  of  home  econom- 
ics is  to  give  the  pupils  a  knowledge  and  an  apprecia- 


296  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

tion  of  what  society  has  done  and  expects  in  this  field, 
to  raise  standards  of  personal  living  in  its  various  phases, 
and  to  enable  the  children  to  do  for  themselves  and  for 
others  more  efficiently.  It  not  only  helps  to  make  a 
Uving,  but  it  should  help  to  live  more  completely.  It 
tends  to  dignify  work  and  to  impress  the  great  truth  that 
labor  is  a  blessing  and  not  a  curse.  It  helps  to  trace, 
from  savagery  to  civilization,  the  progress  of  events 
connected  with  the  family  fireside  and  the  family  board. 
It  gives  the  occasion  and  the  opportunity  to  feel  the  joy 
of  expression  thru  the  hands. 

What  can  be  Done.  —  Girls  could  and  should  be  taught 
in  any  elementary  school,  rural  or  urban,  the  various 
phases  of  needlework,  beginning  with  the  most  ele- 
mentary exercises.  Pupils  should  come  to  feel  quite 
at  home  in  the  hand  and  finger  manipulation  of  the  or- 
dinary tools  and  materials.  This  is  a  matter  of  habit, 
and  this  habit  should  be  fairly  well  ingrained  in  the  school 
years.  Some  study  of  the  principal  textiles  should  also 
be  made.  As  in  other  fines,  the  study  should  be  produc- 
tive of  real  results.  Actual  things  should  be  made,  be- 
ginning with  the  simplest. 

In  rural  schools  where  the  children  do  not  go  home  for 
lunch,  some  one  wholesome  and  hot  food  should  be  served 
each  day  to  all.  In  the  preparation  of  this  the  girls, 
one  by  one  or  in  groups,  may  be  called  upon;  thus  to 
help  and  serve  will  be  a  greater  pleasure  and  honor  than 
to  be  served.  This  plan  creates  an  interest  in  foods, 
and  some  new  fact  or  principle  will  be  brought  to  light 
each  day.  It  gives  a  basis  for  teaching  the  value  of  foods 
and  their  uses  in  the  body.     It  wiU  add  cheer  to  the 


The  Special  Subjects  297 

school  in  several  ways.  The  children  need  something 
warm,  especially  since  most  of  them  had  an  early  and 
light  breakfast.  It  also  adds  the  social  and  the  so- 
ciable element  to  the  school  family. 

Such  occasions  afford  the  teacher  an  opportunity  to  give 
some  specific  hints  and  directions  in  regard  to  lunch  boxes 
or  baskets,  their  cleanliness,  the  variety  of  contents,  etc. 

Equipment  and  Material.  —  For  cooking  purposes 
a  two-burner  gasoHne  stove  can  be  purchased  for  $3 
and  a  one-burner '  for  $1.50;  two-burner  Perfection 
kerosene  stove  for  about  $8  and  a  one-burner  for  $5. 
A  one-burner  kerosene  stove  which  answers  the  pur- 
pose very  well  may  be  secured  for  $2.50;  a  one-burner 
oven  for  $2.50. 

There  will  also  be  needed  a  kettle,  a  double  boiler,  a 
long-handle  spoon,  and  a  long-handle  dipper.  Each  child 
should  provide  his  own  cup,  spoon,  and  paper  napkin. 

Cereals,  beans,  peas,  etc.  are  recommended ;  milk  will 
make  these  palatable  and  nutritious ;  they  can  be  made 
into  gruels,  mush,  and  soups.  The  teacher,  the  pupils, 
the  famines,  and  the  Board  in  conference  should  solve 
the  problem  of  furnishing  the  supplies. 

REFERENCES   AND  SOURCES 

Williams  and  Fisher:    Elements  of  the  Theory  and  Practice  of 

Cookery  (The  Macmillan  Co.). 
Kinne  and  Cooley:  Household  Management  (The  Macmillan  Co.). 
Kinne  and  Cooley:   Shelter  and  Clothing  (The  Macmillan  Co.). 
The  Dress  Maker  (Butterick  Fashion  Co.). 
Agricultural  Bulletins:   Nos.  34,  142,  256,  391,  413,  487.     (These 

may  be  secured  by  writing  to  The  Department  of  Agriculture, 

Washington,  D.C.) 


298  Fundamentals  hi  Methods 

VI.   Manual  Training 

Value  of  Expression.  —  It  is  now  generally  admitted 
that  even  for  so-called  liberal  and  cultural  education 
the  hand  and  its  work  are  great  avenues  of  approach. 
The  brain  is  awakened  by  hand  processes ;  and  manual 
training  offers  a  great  field  for  construction  and  for  in- 
genuity of  all  kinds.  The  hand  is  our  most  expressive 
organ  and  our  most  efficient  tool.  Boys  and  girls  like 
to  do  things,  especially  things  that  seem  to  them  worth 
while.  They  like  to  see  the  products  or  fruits  of  their 
own  labors;  and  hence  both  domestic  science  and 
manual  training  are  subjects  which  awaken  a  lively  in- 
terest and  a  concentrated  attention.  It  is  only  within 
recent  years  that  the  whole  significance  of  doing  things 
in  all  these  special  lines  has  been  realized.  Every 
nation  which  has  come  up  toward  civilization  has 
come  up  thru  and  by  means  of  work.  The  child 
must  travel  in  large  measure  the  same  road.  Manual 
training,  like  domestic  science,  suggests  respect  for 
labor  of  all  kinds.  It  keeps  in  school  boys  who  would 
otherwise  leave ;  and  it  makes  easier  the  problem  of 
school  government  by  furnishing  a  legitimate  outlet 
for  surplus  energy. 

Correlates  with  Life.  —  Manual  training,  like  the 
other  expressive  subjects,  brings  pupils  into  closer  con- 
tact with  the  life  around  them.  In  after  years  these 
subjects  will  cause  pupils  to  energize  efficiently  in  society. 
The  teacher  who  is  somewhat  proficient  in  these  lines  is 
more  likely  to  command  the  respect,  the  admiration, 
and   the   following  of  youth.    We  may   study  Latin, 


The  Special  Subjects  299 

modern  languages,  mathematics,  social  or  natural  sciences, 
and  yet,  in  after  life,  these  lights  may  remain  somewhat 
hidden  under  a  bushel.  They  do  not  always  energize  or 
function.  And  so,  while  we  would  not  urge  the  so-called 
"  doing "  to  the  exclusion  of  the  knowing  subjects, 
nevertheless,  the  former  should  not  be  neglected.  There 
should  really  be  no  controversy  between  the  two  classes. 
The  efficient  person  is  the  one  who  can  do  things ;  and  it 
is  true  that  there  may  be  a  kind  of  knowing  without  this 
ability  to  do. 

Scope.  —  Some  kind  of  manual  training  should  be 
found  in  every  grade  of  the  elementary  school,  whether 
urban  or  rural.  In  the  lower  grades  it  should,  like 
language  work,  geography,  and  morals,  be  correlated 
with  other  subjects.  Tho  called  "  busy  work,"  "  con- 
struction," paper  and  cardboard  work  of  all  kinds, 
it  is,  nevertheless,  manual  training.  As  we  ascend  in 
the  grades,  however,  the  work  should  become  more  and 
more  what  is  specifically  and  technically  called  by  this 
name.  Coping-saw  work  and  the  use  of  many  simple 
tools  could  well  be  introduced  as  low  as  the  fourth  grade. 
The  making  of  book  covers  for  notebooks,  and  bench 
work  of  various  kinds,  could  be  done  in  the  sixth,  seventh, 
and  eighth  grades. 

Equipment  and  Room.  —  In  these  days,  under  the 
laws  of  the  state  and  the  rules  and  regulations  of  state 
boards,  there  are  certain  requirements  in  regard  to  heat- 
ing, lighting,  ventilation,  and  architecture  generally. 
Consequently,  the  newer  schoolhouses,  even  in  the 
country  schools,  have  good  basements.  In  such  cases 
the  basement  would  provide  a  good  room  for  manual 


300  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

training  and  for  the  tools  and  materials  needed.  All 
the  simple  but  necessary  tools  should  be  provided, 
and  this  workshop  would  be  a  center  of  interest  and 
inspiration.  Even  the  smaller  children,  who  would  be 
permitted  to  watch  and  to  carry  out  their  little  projects, 
would  be  greatly  benefited,  not  only  by  their  own  activity, 
but  by  imitation  and  inspiration  due  to  the  presence  and 
the  work  of  those  larger  and  more  advanced. 

One  bench  and  the  necessary  tools  would  cost  about 
$25;  each  additional  bench,  about  $15.  If  there  is  no 
such  room  or  equipment  in  the  school,  the  conditions 
are,  of  course,  adverse;  but  even  then  the  good  live 
teacher  will  be  Hkely  to  find  a  way  or  make  one.  In 
cities  provision  is  made,  if  at  all,  for  systematic  manual 
training  by  the  school  administration ;  if  there  be  no  such 
provision,  each  teacher  is  left  to  her  own  resources  and 
ingenuity.  But  even  then,  much  can  be  done :  —  where 
there  is  a  will  there  is  a  way. 

REFERENCES  AND   SOURCES 

Buxton  and  Curran :  Paper  and  Cardboard  Consiruciion. 

Ben  Johnson  :  Coping-saw  Work. 

Henry  Turner  Bailey :  Booklet  Making. 

Griffity :  Correlated  Courses  in  Woodwork  and  Mechanical  Drawing. 

Griffity :  Essentials  in  Woodwork. 

Van  Dusen  :  Beginning  with  Woodworking. 

The  last  named  sets  problems  and  gives  directions  for 
their  working  out.  This  plan  works  very  well  where  the 
teacher  is  busy  with  other  classes. 

All  the  above-named  books  are  handled  by  The  Manual 
Arts  Press,  Peoria,  IlHnois. 


The  Special  Subjects  301 

VII.   Wake  Up  Mind 

An  Important  Period.  —  Every  teacher  should  have 
an  occasional  short  period  in  which  the  chief  aim  would 
be  to  wake  up  mind.  Mr.  Page,  in  his  old  classic  called 
"  Theory  and  Practice  of  Teaching/*  devotes  a  portion 
of  a  chapter  to  a  discussion  of  this  subject.  It  is  as 
timely  to-day  as  it  was  then.  Such  a  period  brings  the 
attention  of  the  whole  school  to  a  focus.  Minds  as  well 
as  bodies  "  touch  elbows,"  so  to  speak,  on  such  occasions. 
A  problem  is  thrown  out  for  solution  and  all  grapple 
with  it.  If  the  teacher  propounds  the  problem  or  asks 
the  question  in  such  a  manner  as  to  indicate  that  he  him- 
self has  not  full  knowledge  of  it,  —  that  he  too  is  wrestling 
with  it,  —  it  would  awaken  all  the  more  interest  and 
attention.  The  author  remembers  with  keenest  relish 
such  periods  given  by  one  of  his  teachers  many  years  ago. 
There  was  probably  no  exercise  in  that  school  that  did 
more  good  than  such  problems  and  questions,  taken,  as 
they  were,  from  any  source  under  the  sun.  Such  topics 
tend  to  knit  the  school  into  the  activities  and  interests 
of  everyday  life,  for  they  bring  the  school  and  life  to- 
gether. This  would  be  real  teaching  and  the  true 
school. 

A  Few  Sample  Topics.  —  We  submit  a  few  samples 
of  the  kind  of  topics  suggested.  The  teacher  and  the 
pupils  would  add  others  without  number : 

1.  What  makes  the  wings  of  a  windmill  turn  around? 
How? 

2.  What  makes  the  weathervane  point  to  the  wind? 
How? 


302  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

3.  What  makes  the  water  sprinkler  on  the  lawn  turn 
around  ?    How  ? 

4.  Why  have  large  sections  of  country  which  were 
once  covered  with  water  and  which  contained  numerous 
sloos  and  swamps  so  dried  up  that  there  are  fields  now 
where  water  once  stood  ? 

5.  Why  do  farmers  cultivate  corn?  What  does  culti- 
vation do? 

6.  If  one  should  go  due  northeast  continually,  where 
would  he  come  to? 

7.  Why  is  it  that  people  are  growing  corn  much  farther 
north  than  was  possible  formerly  ? 

We  need  not  continue  the  list  which  the  pupils  should 
help  make.  They  should  be  induced  to  give  all  the 
reasons,  pro  and  con^  in  regard  to  the  problem  under 
discussion:  in  fact  they  could  not  be  restrained  from 
so  doing.  Such  exercises  wake  up  and  clarify  the 
mind. 

Contagious  Interest.  —  Such  problems,  it  is  true, 
may  be  specially  appropriate  for  the  larger  pupils,  but 
it  is  wonderful  how  the  younger  children  will  catch  the 
spirit  of  the  older  ones.  Indeed,  what  has  been  called 
the  "  overflow  of  instruction "  is  one  of  the  potent 
educative  factors  in  rural  schools.  The  smaller  pupils 
listen  to  the  larger  ones  reciting  their  more  advanced 
lessons  and  learn  a  great  deal  from  the  discussions. 
In  a  particular  grade  of  a  city  school  all  the  pupils  are  of 
the  same  age  and  degree  of  advancement ;  there  are  no 
subjects  discussed  which  are  above  their  own  level. 
The  consequence  is  that  there  is  a  tendency  to  monotony. 
An  ungraded  school  has  many  incentives  and  invigorating 


The  Special  Subjects  303 

exercises  in  which  both  the  older  and  the  younger  pupils 
participate.  Thought  is  aroused  not  only  in  the  school 
but  frequently  in  the  whole  neighborhood.  To  stir  up 
thought,  conversation,  and  helpful  discussion  among 
the  patrons  and  people  of  the  community  is  not  the 
least  important  aim  of  the  teacher  and  the  school. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

METHODS  IN  SCHOOL   MANAGEMENT 

Importance.  —  The  foregoing  chapters  have  been  de- 
voted to  fundamentals  in  the  methods  of  teaching  the 
various  common  school  subjects.  This  would  seem  in- 
complete without  a  short  discussion  of  some  of  the  fun- 
damental methods  in  the  management  and  government 
of  a  school.  It  is  our  manner  and  methods  of  school 
management  that  determine  to  a  great  extent  our  success 
in  instruction ;  for  if  a  school  is  not  well  regulated  and 
controlled,  the  pupils  will  not  be  in  the  best  mental 
condition  for  the  reception  of  knowledge,  for  the  proper 
emotional  response,  or  for  the  acceptance  of  suggestions 
in  regard  to  conduct.  In  this  chapter  it  is  not  our  aim 
to  give  a  comprehensive  discussion  of  school  manage- 
ment, but  merely  to  offer  a  few  suggestions  in  this  direc- 
tion in  order  that  teachers  or  prospective  teachers  may 
project  the  direction  of  their  further  progress  and  success. 
If  one  puts  down  only  two  stakes,  he  can  then  see  the 
exact  direction  of  other  positions  ahead,  in  a  direct 
Hne ;  and  so  we  give  only  a  few  points  and  allow  these 
to  indicate  the  general  direction  and  character  of  pro- 
cedure. ' 

A  Good  Letter  of  Application.  —  Many  teachers,  as 
we  said  in  our  lesson  on  language,  are  unable  to  write 
a  good  appKcation  for  a  position.     Such  applications 

304 


Methods  in  School  Management         305 

often  contain  inherent  weaknesses  and  indications  of 
a  lack  of  ability  in  various  ways.  Many  such  appHca- 
tions  find  their  way  into  the  wastebasket  of  the  school 
board.     From  indirections  the  board  finds  directions  out. 

Contract.  —  Before  beginning  a  term  of  school  a 
teacher  should  see  to  it  that  her  contract  has  been  for- 
mally made  out  and  signed,  where  the  law  requires  such 
a  contract,  as  is  the  case  in  most  states.  No  loophole 
should  be  left  by  the  teacher  or  by  the  school  board  for 
dissatisfaction  or  for  evasion  of  the  fulfillment  of  the 
understanding.  When  room  is  left  for  either  party  to 
withdraw  from  the  terms  of  a  verbal  contract,  each 
one  invites  such  a  withdrawal.  Altho  the  word  of 
each  party  may  have  passed,  a  written  contract,  when 
required  by  law,  should  be  duly  signed  and  a  copy 
given  to  each  party. 

In  this  connection  we  would  say,  however,  that  it  is 
not  only  professional  ethics  but  ordinary  morality  that 
when  one's  word  is  given  he  is  in  duty  hound,  whether  a 
written  contract  has  been  signed  or  not.  Many  com- 
plaints are  justly  made  by  school  boards  in  regard  to 
teachers  for  thus  breaking  their  word,  which  should  be 
as  good  as  their  bond.  On  the  other  hand,  many  teachers 
have  just  reason  to  complain  of  the  treatment  of  school 
boards  in  regard  to  understandings  and  verbal  agree- 
ments.    Such  things  should  not  be. 

Go  in  Time.  —  A  teacher,  especially  in  the  case  of 
rural  districts,  should  go  into  a  neighborhood  a  day  or 
two  ahead  of  the  opening  of  school  in  order  to  secure 
a  boarding  place  and  to  become  acquainted  with  some 
of  the  people  and  children  of  the  neighborhood.     She 


3o6  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

will  thus  get  "  the  lay  of  the  land  "  and  will  be  better 
enabled  to  realize  the  situation  which  lies  before  her. 
Just  as  we  develop  in  children's  minds  an  apperception 
mass  to  make  them  interested  in  what  is  coming  and  to 
aid  them  in  making  further  progress,  so  the  teacher,  by 
becoming  a  resident  of  a  district  a  day  or  two  in  advance, 
will  create  in  her  own  mind  and  in  the  minds  of  the  people 
in  the  community  an  educational  apperception  mass 
that  will  be  of  inestimable  value  to  her  in  launching  and 
carrying  on  her  work  in  that  neighborhood. 

"  Get  into  the  Game."  —  Every  teacher  should,  to 
use  a  popular  phrase,  ''  get  into  the  game  "  in  the  com- 
munity. She  should  not  have  in  mind  the  idea  of  re- 
turning home  Friday  evening,  the  earhest  opportunity, 
and  of  remaining  there  until  Monday  morning.  The 
community  may  tolerate  this  once  or  twice  without 
complaint,  but  if  such  a  practice  becomes  chronic,  the 
people  have  good  reason  to  think  that  the  teacher  is 
there  merely  for  the  money  that  is  in  it,  that  she  is  a 
visitor  and  a  stranger  in  their  midst,  and  that  her  heart 
and  her  thoughts  are  elsewhere.  That  teacher  who 
immerses  herself  in  the  life  and  activities  of  the  people, 
who  participates  in  their  doings,  who  visits  their  homes, 
and  who  assumes  leadership  wherever  feasible  among 
the  people  and  the  children,  can  do  most  good  in  a  com- 
munity. They  will  then  consider  her  one  of  them- 
selves instead  of  regarding  her  as  a  stranger  who  comes 
to  them  for  a  few  days'  work  and  goes  home  whenever 
possible. 

The  First  Day.  —  The  first  day  is  probably  the  most 
important  one  of  the  whole  term.     The  pupils  do  not  go 


Methods  in  School  Management         307 

to  school  the  first  day  to  study  their  lessons  but  to  study 
the  teacher;  and  the  teacher  does  not  go  to  school  the 
first  day  primarily  to  teach  lessons  but  to  study  the  chil- 
dren and  to  become  acquainted  with  them.  Conse- 
quently, the  teacher  should  "  put  her  best  foot  forward" 
the  first  day.  She  should  be  busy  and  cheerful  and 
should  see  to  it  that  the  "  ball  is  kept  rolling."  Time 
should  not  be  allowed  to  drag,  lest  faultfinding  may 
find  a  place.  The  teacher  should  learn  the  names  of 
all  the  children,  the  point  reached  in  their  various 
studies,  and  all  other  important  facts  in  regard  to 
them  and  their  work.  She  should  give  evidence  of 
being  sociable  and  should  make  it  plain  that  she  is 
their  friend.  The  first  day  she  should  endeavor  by  all 
means  to  secure  a  strong  party,  if  not  all  of  the  school, 
on  her  side.  For  at  the  end  of  the  first  day  the  pupils 
will  leave  the  schoolhouse  either  with  favorable  or  un- 
favorable comment  upon  their  Kps.  If  they  leave  the 
schoolroom  the  first  evening  as  friends  of  the  teacher, 
nothing  but  good  words  will  be  spoken  of  her  on  the  way 
home;  but  if  they  depart  dissatisfied  and  hostile,  the 
teacher  will  have  great  difficulty  thereafter  to  reverse 
such  a  trend  of  thought  and  discussion. 

Masterfulness.  —  If  a  teacher  be  strpng  and  tactful, 
she  will  show  it  in  her  whole  bearing  and  in  all  her  move- 
ments of  the  day.  Her  masterfulness  will  appear  at 
every  turn.  The  pupils  will  realize  immediately  that  the 
schoolroom  is  not  a  simple  democracy,  but  that  inside 
its  walls  the  teacher  is  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judi- 
cial authority.  But  the  teacher  will  not  be  an  unreason- 
able and  unreasoning  despot;    she  will  be  firm  and 


3o8  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

just ;  and  there  are  no  two  attributes  that  children  love 
more.  Consequently,  if  some  pupils  come  to  school 
possessed  of  the  idea  that  they  have  inherited  rights,  — 
a  kind  of  preemption  right,  —  for  example,  to  certain 
seats,  —  they  should  be  at  once  kindly  but  tactfully 
disabused  of  any  such  notion.  The  teacher  should 
seat  the  pupils  at  once  according  to  her  own  ideas  of 
fitness  and  propriety;  and  every  pupil  should  under- 
stand that  his  seating  may  be  changed  at  any  time. 

Proper  Seating.  —  Much  of  the  government  and  disci- 
plining of  a  school  depends  upon  the  proper  distribution 
and  seating  of  the  children.  If  a  couple  or  a  group  of 
children  sitting  close  together  are  inclined  to  be  mischiev- 
ous, this  may  become  a  center  of  disturbance.  The 
teacher  should  see  the  little  storm  at  the  beginning  and, 
without  telHng  the  children  why  their  seating  is  changed, 
should  see  to  it  that  this  is  speedily  done  on  some  pre- 
text. But  the  teacher  should  keep  her  own  counsel  in 
such  matters. 

Don't  Boast  or  "  Knock."  —  The  teacher  who  goes 
into  a  new  neighborhood  or  a  new  school  should  beware 
of  boasting ;  on  the  other  hand  she  should  never  make  a 
disparaging  remark  in  regard  to  the  character,  the  ability, 
or  the  mode  of  procedure  of  her  predecessor.  There  is 
scarcely  anything  more  contemptible  than  building 
one's  reputation  upon  the  ruins  of  another.  If  a  person 
can  not  say  anything  good  of  his  predecessor,  he  should 
not  speak  of  him  at  all ;  it  is  still  better  to  speak  of  his 
good  quahties  whenever  possible. 

Few  Rules.  —  A  teacher  should  make  but  few  if  any 
rules.  •  Pupils,  as  well  as  adults,  know  what  is  right,  and 


Methods  in  School  Management         309 

it  is  not  necessary  to  have  written  or  printed  rules  posted 
upon  the  wall  or  upon  the  board.  This  is  not  customary 
in  society,  for  everybody  knows  what  is  proper  and  right. 
If  a  breach  of  etiquette,  of  morals,  or  of  the  proper  pro- 
cedure of  any  kind  occur,  then  and  there  is  the  time  to 
make  known  definitely  and  unequivocally  that  such 
things  can  not  be.  There  should  be  no  scolding  nor  nag- 
ging in  regard  to  it,  but  pupils  can  read  upon  the  deter- 
mined teacher's  countenance  that  such  an  act  is  not  to 
be  repeated.  It  is,  we  think,  a  mistake  to  make  a  rule  or 
to  have  a  rule  understood  against  whispering  or  against 
the  proper  leaving  of  one's  seat.  Whispering  in  itself 
is  not  a  wrong  or  an  evil.  It  is  only  when  it  becomes  a 
nuisance  and  a  hindrance  to  those  around  that  it  should 
be  forbidden.  The  leaving  of  one's  seat  to  consult  the 
dictionary  or  to  deposit  Htter  in  a  wastebasket  should 
be  allowed.  This  would  resemble  conduct  in  real  life. 
A  Test  Case.  -^  Of  course,  if  a  teacher  sees  that  a 
pupil  is  repeating  a  certain  act  merely  for  the  sake  of 
attracting  attention  or  for  the  purpose  of  annoying  her, 
then  and  there  it  should  be  caught  and  stopped  once  for 
all.  There  are  some  things  at  which  the  teacher  should 
connive  —  some  little  things  which  the  teacher  should 
not  see.  But  if  an  act  is  serious  and  is  Hkely  to  be  re- 
peated, the  teacher's  eye  should  rest  upon  the  pupil 
and  there  should  be  no  connivance.  If  a  pupil,  in  any 
kind  of  brazen  manner,  should  attempt  then  to  look 
the  teacher  down,  the  latter  should  beware.  Such  an 
instance  should  be  the  first  crossing  of  mental  swords, 
and  if  the  teacher's  eye  drops,  the  pupil  has  conquered. 
The  pupil  is  the  person  who  should  retreat  under  such 


3IO  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

circumstances.  If  the  teacher  be  the  first,  then  woe  to 
her  government  and  discipHne  thereafter. 

Visit  the  Homes.  —  A  teacher  should  establish  friendly 
relations  with  the  parents  of  her  pupils;  she  should 
visit  the  parents  in  their  homes.  This  is  especially 
true  in  rural  districts  and  in  small  towns.  Altho 
the  teacher  is  a  comparative  stranger  in  their  midst  she 
should  not  stand  upon  the  usual  etiquette  of  waiting 
until  a  parent  has  called.  Such  formality  should  not 
obtain  in  a  situation  of  that  kind.  When  a  teacher  calls 
upon  the  parents  and  is  entertained  under  their  roof 
and  at  the  family  table,  they  will  not  be  the  first  to 
beHeve  unfavorable  stories  in  regard  to  her.  They  will 
be  her  shield  and  her  defense  in  time  of  possible  storm 
or  stress.  They  will  say  that  they  know  that  teacher 
and  that  they  are  sure  that  such  things  are  not  true. 

Don't  Teach  the  Home  School.  —  Caution  should  be 
given  to  young  teachers  not  to  teach  the  home  school. 
Where  a  person  has  grown  up  with  the  young  people  and 
children  of  the  neighborhood,  it  is  difficult  to  disprove 
the  old  adage  that  ''  FamiHarity  breeds  contempt.'' 
In  such  a  situation  children  are  accustomed  to  hear  the 
teacher  called  by  her  first  name  and  consequently  they 
do  hkewise  by  imitation.  This  leads  to  further  Hberties 
and  famiharity  and  weakens  a  teacher's  power  in  dis- 
cipline and  government.  A  parent  is  not  the  best 
teacher  of  his  own  child.  The  teaching  process  needs 
a  kind  of  estrangement  between  the  child  and  his  teacher, 
for  in  that  condition  he  is  most  suggestible.  There  is 
usually  a  halo  of  greatness  around  the  stranger,  and 
children   receive   instruction   and   direction   from    him 


Methods  in  School  Management         311 

which  they  would  be  tempted  to  challenge  in  the  case 
of  one  who  is  well  known.  It  seems  to  be  a  peculiarity 
of  human  nature  to  prize  that  which  is  far  away  and  to 
disparage  what  is  near.  There  is  a  tendency  in  us  all  to 
believe  what  we  see  and  read  in  a  book,  while  if  these 
same  assertions  were  made  by  those  whom  we  know,  we 
should  be  inclined  to  challenge  them.  With  all  of  these 
facts  in  mind,  it  would  be  better  for  a  young  teacher  to 
begin  her  work  in  a  new  neighborhood  and  with  strange 
children.  While  it  may  be  more  pleasant  to  be  at  home 
among  friends,  it  is  professionally  more  advantageous 
to  begin  our  vocation  among  strangers.  Here  we  have 
to  depend  upon  ourselves  and  to  blaze  forth  our  own 
paths.  This  should  mean  much  for  the  cultivation 
of  individuality  and  of  initiative  on  the  part  of  the 
teacher. 

Signals  in  the  Schoolroom.  —  In  the  caUing  and  dis- 
missal of  classes  and  of  school  exercises  generally,  a  simple 
set  of  signals  is  recommended.  It  is  not  necessary  to 
use  a  loud  bell  or  to  adopt  a  martinet  system  of  signals 
and  of  movements  of  the  children.  Any  plan  of  signals 
should  be  reduced  to  its  lowest  and  simplest  terms. 
The  class  might  first  be  called  merely  by  name;  they 
would  then  rise  and,  at  the  word  "  pass,''  move  to  the 
usual  place  of  recitation.  Without  going  into  details 
in  this  matter,  it  is  sufficient  to  say  that  a  teacher  should 
avoid  unnecessary  disorder  on  the  one  hand  and  a  com- 
pHcated  system  of  unnecessary  signals  on  the  other.  In 
this  as  in  all  matters,  the  practice  in  ordinary  life  and  in 
important  situations  should  be  approached.  ''  Order  is 
Heaven's  first  law,"  and  some  system  of  orderly  changes 


312  Fundamentals  hi  Methods 

should  be  adopted.  Each  teacher  can  work  out  her 
own  plan. 

Keep  the  Machinery  in  the  Background.  —  It  is  well 
for  the  teacher  to  keep  her  plans  and  her  motives  to  her- 
self. It  is  destructive  of  discipline  and  of  government  to 
reveal  to  pupils  just  why  things  are  done  as  they  are. 
They  will  begin  to  question  the  why  of  it  all,  and  such  a 
challenge  is  good  neither  for  the  government  of  the 
school  nor  for  the  children's  minds  and  conduct.  Fitch, 
in  his  lectures  on  teaching,  says,  ''  Keep  the  machinery  in 
the  background  '* ;  and  Napoleon,  when  asked  how  it 
was  that  he  controlled  kings  and  managed  parKaments 
and  senates,  simply  said,  "By  reserve !  "  There  might 
be,  it  is  true,  the  extreme  of  what  is  called  the  reserved 
teacher,  who  would  hold  herself  completely  aloof  from 
the  pupils.  There  might  also  be  the  other  extreme, 
where  the  teacher  would  identify  herself  with  all  the 
minor  doings  and  sayings  of  the  children,  and  thus  be- 
come too  familiarly  one  of  them.  Here,  as  everywhere 
else,  the  golden  mean  would  be  best. 

The  Proper  Atmosphere  and  Spirit.  —  The  great 
problem  of  the  teacher  is  to  see  to  it  that  a  proper  atmos- 
phere and  spirit  are  generated.  The  attitude  of  the 
pupils  must  be  right  in  order  that  they  may  learn. 
But  the  attitude  of  the  pupils  will  usually  be  an  echo 
of  the  attitude  of  the  teacher.  We  usually  get  back 
what  we  give.  This  is  one  of  the  results  of  personal 
association  and  contact.  We  grow  Hke  unto  each  other, 
and  the  pupils,  in  large  measure,  imitate  and  grow 
like  unto  the  teacher ;  hence,  *'  As  is  the  teacher,  so  is 
the  school."    If  a  teacher  is  poHte,  poHteness  will  be 


Methods  in  School  Management         313 

cultivated  in  the  children;  if  the  teacher  is  neat  and 
cleanly  in  person  and  in  dress,  the  children  will  imitate 
her  to  quite  an  extent.  Hence  the  teachers  are  Hving 
fires  at  which  the  pupils  Hght  their  torches  as  they  go 
forth  in  school  and  in  life. 

A  Clock  and  Program.  —  There  should  be  a  clock  in 
every  schoolroom.  If  it  is  not  furnished  by  the  school 
board,  as  it  should  be,  the  teacher  should  invest  in  one 
which  is  simple  and  inexpensive.  The  pupils  have  a 
right  to  know  the  time  of  day ;  and  it  is  a  satisfaction 
and  a  means  of  regulating  their  work.  Every  teacher, 
too,  should  have  a  program  which  should  be  followed 
with  reasonable  closeness.  It  sometimes  happens  that 
some  subjects  monopolize  more  than  their  share  of  time. 
This  is  apt  to  be  the  case  with  subjects  which  the 
teacher  Hkes  or  which  lend  themselves  to  the  using  of 
time,  while  those  that  are  difficult  for  the  teacher  receive 
less  time  and  attention.  This  is  likely  to  be  the  practice, 
especially  when  visitors  are  present.  The  teacher,  fearing 
that  she  will  not  need  all  of  the  time,  uses  as  much  as 
possible  of  it  on  subjects  which  she  likes  to  teach.  But 
this  is  unjust  to  herself,  to  her  pupils,  and  to  her  visitors. 
The  program  should  be  followed  quite  closely. 

There  should  be  on  the  program  a  time  for  study  as 
well  as  for  recitation.  If  such  is  not  the  ca§e,  pupils 
will  waste  much  time  in  rummaging  from  one  thing  to 
another.  Such  a  stated  period  would  also  induce  definite 
habits  of  studying  a  certain  subject  at  a  certain  time 
and  in  a  certain  place.  Then  when  we  find  ourselves 
in  that  place  and  at  that  time,  the  proper  mood  is  likely 
to  come  in  accordance  with  the  nature  of  habit. 


314  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

Regular  and  Punctual.  —  The  teacher  should  be 
punctual  and  regular  in  all  her  work.  She  should  be  in 
her  room  at  the  schoolhouse  ahead  of  time  rather  than 
behind.  A  lack  of  punctuaHty  and  of  regularity  are  two 
problems  with  which  teachers  have  to  wrestle  in  dealing 
with  children;  but  it  is  impossible  to  urge  them  upon 
children  if  we  ourselves  are  seen  to  be  offenders.  No 
pupil  should  have  an  opportunity  to  say  that  his  teacher 
was  late  or  absent  without  a  reason  which  appeals  to  him 
as  entirely  convincing. 

Teach  How  to  Study.  —  Most  pupils,  and  indeed 
many  high  school  and  college  students,  do  not  really  know 
how  to  study.  Children  should  be  taught  this  by  the 
teacher.  Sometimes  pupils  will  be  heard  to  say  that 
they  studied  a  lesson  over  seven  times  or  more.  Such 
methods  of  study  may  be  merely  a  mental  dissipation. 

The  proper  way  to  study  a  lesson  would  be  to  read  it 
over  slowly  and  thoughtfully,  taking  down  upon  a 
small  piece  of  paper  at  our  side  the  pivotal  points  of 
interest  or  discussion,  the  chief  contentions,  or  the 
problems  explained  in  the  text.  Then  after  we  have 
read  the  whole  lesson  thru  in  this  careful  manner  it  is 
well  to  close  the  book  for  a  short  period  of  reflection. 

We  note  then  the  first  topic,  or  point,  jotted  down  and 
consider  in  our  own  minds  whether  or  not  we  can  "  de- 
liver the  goods,"  so  to  speak,  in  our  own  language.  If 
we  know  the  point  which  has  been  made,  if  we  have  the 
information  which  estabhshes  the  truth  in  our  own  minds, 
and  if  we  are  satisfied  that  we  can  furnish  the  solution 
of  the  problem  when  called  upon,  we  may  then  rest 
satisfied  that  we  know  this  point. 


Methods  in  School  Management         315 

We  proceed  then  to  the  next  topic,  and  if  after  a  few 
minutes'  reflection  we  can  not  bring  to  mind  the  drift 
of  the  thought  and  the  conclusion  arrived  at,  it  would 
then  be  legitimate  to  open  the  book  in  order  to  see  how 
the  author  maintains  his  position. 

We  then  proceed  in  hke  manner  to  the  third  point 
which  we  have  taken  down,  and  if,  after  due  reflection, 
we  again  realize  in  our  own  minds  that  we  see  the 
point  made  and  the  way  in  which  it  was  made,  we  may 
then  conclude  that  this  is  also  clearly  and  adequately 
known. 

Having  gone  thru  all  our  points  in  this  reflective 
manner,  we  may  then  with  safety  close  the  book  and 
the  subject  and  leave  the  rest  for  the  time  of  recitation. 
Such  a  method  of  study  wherein  we  have  read  carefully 
thru  the  lesson  and  taken  down  the  pivotal  points, 
and  later  have  had  these  periods  of  self-examination, 
is  far  better  than  reading  thru  the  lesson  seven  —  or 
forty-seven  —  times  in  a  superficial  and  often  thought- 
less manner. 

Mental  Habits.  —  Habits  of  thought  and  of  study  may 
be  induced  and  cultivated  like  habits  of  any  other  kind. 
The  mind  may  form  the  habit  of  "  holding  on  "  to  a  sub- 
ject with  all  its  might,  or  on  the  other  hand  it  may  form 
the  habit  of  continually  '^  slipping."  Much  will  depend 
upon  the  teacher  as  to  what  mental  habits  are  formed 
by  pupils  in  their  methods  of  studying. 

A  Slave  to  a  Book  or  Course  of  Study.  —  A  teacher 
should  not  be  a  slave  to  the  textbook.  As  a  pupil  is 
supposed  to  be  able  to  reproduce  a  lesson  from  the  points 
he  has  taken  down  during  his  study  period,  so  a  teacher 


3i6  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

should  be  able  to  conduct  a  recitation  with  the  textbook 
closed.  This  should  be  merely  a  source  of  information 
and  a  basis  for  discussion  for  both  teacher  and  class. 
But  the  slavish  following  of  the  text,  whether  the  pupils 
memorize  its  paragraphs  or  whether  the  teacher  must 
refer  to  it  in  class  in  order  to  know  whether  or  not  the 
answers  are  correct,  is  certain  death  to  all  interest  and 
success  in  teaching.  The  teacher  should  have  both 
hands  free  and  should  be  able  to  walk  to  the  board  and 
to  illustrate,  on  the  instant  and  in  a  few  seconds,  any- 
thing in  the  lesson  which  will  lend  itself  to  such  illustra- 
tion. Someone  has  said  that  the  success  of  a  school 
may  be  measured  by  the  amount  of  chalk  which  is  used ; 
consequently  the  teacher  should  be  able  to  make  things 
clear  by  visual  illustration. 

We  would  say,  also,  that  as  there  should  be  no  sub- 
serviency to  the  textbook,  neither  should  the  teacher  and 
her  class  be  slaves  to  the  details  of  a  course  of  study. 
Effective  teaching  must  be  free.  The  teacher  who  feels 
that  her  hands  are  tied  in  the  teaching  of  any  subject 
must  feel  the  burden  of  her  slavery.  The  lock  step  in  all 
such  matters  should  be  avoided  by  all  means. 

Questioning.  —  Questioning  is  the  great  art  of  the 
teacher  as  it  is  of  the  lawyer.  The  teacher's  questions 
should  be  direct,  simple,  and  definite;  they  should  not 
suggest  the  answer  and  should  not  be  capable,  as  a 
rule,  of  being  answered  merely  by  the  word  yes  or  no. 
Where  these  are  a  sufficient  answer,  there  is  one  chance 
out  of  two  of  being  right.  A  good  question  should  simply 
propound  a  problem,  and  let  the  children  wrestle  with  it 
in  a  situation  where  there  is  one  right  answer  to  a  hundred 


Methods  in  School  Management         317 

or  a  thousand  wrong  ones.  The  teacher  should  be  careful 
also  not  to  indicate  directions  or  results  either  by  hints 
or  by  facial  expressions.  While  a  good  teacher  should 
be  interesting  and  sympathetic,  he  should  be  expression- 
less while  the  pupil  is  doing  his  part  of  the  work. 

Repeating  Answers.  —  The  teacher,  should  be  careful 
not  to  fall  into  the  habit,  as  many  teachers  do,  of  re- 
peating in  a  perfunctory  way  the  answer  which  the 
pupil  gives  to  a  question.  Such  a  habit  becomes  a 
veritable  nuisance,  and  as  it  proceeds  the  teacher  is 
likely  to  become  unconscious  of  the  faiHng.  It  is  a 
waste  of  time  and  words,  throwing  over  the  situation 
a  kind  of  monotonous  repetition  which  induces  sleepiness 
rather  than  alertness.  In  the  asking  of  questions  the 
teacher  should  be  careful  to  guard  against  all  manner 
of  random  talking  and  answering.  When  the  teacher 
asks  a  question,  some  particular  individual  should  be 
called  upon  to  wrestle  with  it,  and  all  others  should 
Ksten.  When  he  has  had  his  "  say,"  the  question  may 
then  be  given,  if  desirable,  to  some  one  else  for  correction 
or  further  discussion. 

Stand  or  Sit  ?  —  No  rule  should  be  made  in  regard  to 
standing  or  sitting  during  the  recitation;  this  would 
depend  upon  the  size  of  the  class,  the  maturity  of  the 
pupils,  and  many  other  circumstances.  It  is  not  always 
necessary  for  a  pupil  to  rise  before  answering  a  question. 
This  might  be  a  waste  of  time.  If  the  subject  or  prob- 
lem to  be  discussed  is  such  as  requires  some  little  time, 
the  better  and  more  formal  plan  would  be  to  have  the 
pupil  stand  and  expound  it  at  some  length  in  his  own 
way.    He   would    then    express   himself   in    full.     But 


3i8  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

many  times  only  a  short  answer  is  needed,  and  then  it  is 
entirely  proper  to  allow  a  pupil  to  give  his  answer  while 
he  is  seated.  As  in  all  other  cases,  formal  rules  which 
are  never  to  be  broken  are  an  abhorrence. 

Reviews.  —  At  stated  times  the  teacher  should  give 
the  pupils  a  review  of  the  subject  being  studied. 
Teachers  frequently  forget  this,  for  they  attribute  to  the 
children  the  same  mental  status  in  regard  to  a  subject 
which  they  themselves  have.  It  seems  clear  to  them  and 
consequently  they  forget  that  it  may  not  be  clear  to 
others.  When  pupils  have  gone  over  a  certain  portion 
of  a  textbook,  to  go  back  and  review  certain  topics  is 
very  illuminating  and  instructive.  The  pupils  will  then 
bring  to  bear  upon  these  the  Hght  of  a  higher  and  more 
definite  knowledge.  They  will  also  feel  a  kind  of  thrill 
or  return  wave  of  success  in  a  renewed  attack  upon 
what  they  had  previously  only  partially  mastered. 
They  have  been  under  the  impression  that  they  under- 
stood all  about  it,  but  after  a  good  review  they  feel 
that  they  have  built  for  themselves  "  more  stately 
mansions."  Reviews  for  young  and  growing  minds  are 
one  of  the  best  possible  exercises  of  the  schoolroom. 

Call  Back  Instruction.  —  A  teacher  should  also  call 
back  instruction  periodically  by  means  of  tests  or  exam- 
inations. Every  person  who  has  taught  will  realize, 
when  he  does  this,  that  much  of  the  instruction  which 
he  has  given  rests  in  the  pupils'  minds  in  a  more  or 
less  distorted  shape.  While  these  examinations  should 
not  be  too  frequent,  and  while  too  much  should  not 
depend  upon  them,  they  are  occasions  of  extreme  interest 
and  of  illumination  to  both  teacher  and  pupils. 


Methods  in  School  Management         319 

Nagging,  an  Abominable  Vice.  —  Teachers  should  be 
careful  not  to  fall  into  the  habit  of  scolding  and  nagging. 
It  is  one  of  the  worst  habits,  abominable  from  every 
point  of  view.  Frequently,  it  is  true,  a  pupil  or  the  whole 
school  should  be  "  brought  up  standing  with  a  sharp 
turn  "  and  be  informed  of  the  duty  or  the  neghgence  and 
dereliction  in  point.  But  when  this  is  done,  bygones 
should  be  bygones.  ''  If  'twere  done  when  'tis  done, 
then  'twere  well  'twere  done  quickly."  To  return  to 
it  again  and  again  in  a  nagging,  scolding  manner  is 
an  unpardonable  pedagogical  vice.  In  our  opinion  it 
would  be  far  better  to  administer  a  summary  case  of 
corporal  punishment  and  have  it  over  with.  If  either 
nagging  or  corporal  punishment  is  resorted  to  continu- 
ally or  chronically,  it  is  evident  that  the  atmosphere  and 
attitude  of  the  school  are  not  right.  Here  is  where  the 
teacher  should  look  for  the  source  of  the  trouble. 

Supervise  the  Playground.  —  Teachers  should  be 
careful  to  guard  the  playground.  When  pupils  congre- 
gate at  recesses  and  at  noons,  various  plots  and  schemes 
are  Hkely  to  be  hatched.  Without  supervision  the  recess 
may  be  a  mischief-making  time.  While  a  teacher  should 
not  become  too  prominent  and  too  omnipresent  in  all  the 
relations  of  the  children,  her  presence  should  be  felt 
as  a  good  influence.  While  the  recess  should  be  retained, 
it  should  be  carefully  supervised.  In  some  situations 
this  is  as  much  a  part  of  the  teacher's  business  as  is 
instruction  in  the  classroom. 

Cleanliness.  —  As  the  teacher  should  be  neat  and 
cleanly  in  dress  and  in  habits,  so  the  schoolroom  should 
be  characterized  by  the  same  attributes.     The  teacher 


320  Fundamentals  in  Methods 

should  induce  the  pupils  in  every  way  possible  to  cooper- 
ate with  her  in  having,  if  possible,  the  most  beautiful 
schoolroom  in  the  surrounding  country.  Pictures  should 
be  selected  to  decorate  its  walls.  In  these  days,  happily, 
the  poorest  of  us  may  acquire  pictures  which  kings 
could  not  purchase  a  century  ago. 

School  Entertainments.  —  To  bring  the  school  before 
the  community  in  a  proper  light  and  to  give  it  a  dominant 
note,  it  is  advisable,  occasionally,  to  have  what  is  called 
a  "  school  entertainment."  If  thought  best,  a  small 
admission  fee  of  five  or  ten  cents  might  be  charged. 
The  proceeds  of  this  entertainment  might  well  be  de- 
voted to  the  purchase  of  schoolroom  decorations  or  a 
school  library.  The  whole  community  should  be  invited 
to  attend.  There  is  scarcely  anything  that  so  pleases 
the  parents  of  a  neighborhood  as  the  performances  of 
their  children.  Such  entertainments  frequently  become 
the  subject  of  thought  and  of  talk  in  the  whole  commu- 
nity. This  will  enhst  their  interest  in  the  school  and 
will  generate  a  spirit  which  will  support  the  teacher  in 
whatever  she  may  wish  to  undertake. 

The  Teacher  should  Grow.  —  Finally,  the  teacher 
should  have  within  her  the  power  to  grow.  She  should 
take  at  least  two  professional  journals  or  magazines : 
one  pubHshed  in  the  state  in  order  to  get  the  home  or 
local  educational  news,  and  another  more  national  in 
character.  She  should  have  a  growing  mind  not  only  in 
subjects  to  be  taught  but  in  more  advanced  education; 
President  Butler,  of  Columbia  University,  says  that  the 
power  to  grow  mentally  is  one  of  the  indications  of  an 
educated  person.    The  teacher  should  also  participate  in 


Methods  in  School  Management         321 

professional  conventions  of  various  kinds  and  cooperate 
in  them  with  the  other  teachers  in  her  district,  her  county, 
or  her  state.  Here  she  forms  the  acquaintance  of 
others  and  becomes  known  herself.  In  the  teaching 
profession,  especially,  one's  acquaintance  is  his  capital. 
Becoming  well  and  favorably  known  increases  one's 
chances  of  promotion  and  hence  of  usefulness. 


INDEX 


Abstract  and  concrete,  167, 
Abused  words,  104. 
Activity,  25. 

Addition,  173;  of  fractions,  184. 
Adolescence,  in  writing,  128. 
Agriculture,  292. 
Alcohol,  258. 
Algebra,  9,  191. 
Alphabet  method,  65. 
Ambiguous  terms,  201. 
Analysis,  proximate  and  ultimate,  79, 
216;    of  letters,   125;    of  sentences, 

157. 
Anatomy,  242. 

"And"  in  decimals,  the,  196. 
Anger,  259. 

Antonym,  meaning  thru,  105. 
Apperception  mass,  34. 
Application  for  a  school,  304. 
Aritlmietic,    164  flf. ;    incidental,   182 ; 

too  much  time  on,  169. 
Atmosphere,  the  proper,  9,  312. 
Auditory  to  visual,  62. 

Backbone  words,  138. 
Bacon's  idols,  15. 
Bathing,  245. 

Ben  Bur's  horses  —  illustration,  10. 
Biography  of  an  author,  83,  279. 
Bird,  the  young  —  illustration,  26. 
Blackboard  work,  143. 
Boasting,  308. 
Body,  respect  for,  244. 
Booth,  Edwin  —  illustration,  52. 
Breathing  exercises,  253. 
Browning,  Robert,  16. 
Bushel,  the  —  origin  of,  200. 
Button,  the  —  illustration,  10. 
Byron's  tribute,  85 ;    his  Apostrophe, 
55. 


Cancellation,  179. 

Capitalization,  137. 

''Caput"  as  a  root,  in. 

Character,  4. 

Choosing  selections,  48. 

Cicero's  criticism,  51. 

"Cide"  as  a  root,  112. 

Circle,  the  area  of  —  illustration,  197. 

Cleanliness,  245,  319. 

Clock,  needed,  313. 

Colors,  restful,  254. 

Commercial  arithmetic,  203. 

"  Complement,"  meaning  of,  163. 

Compositional  power,  134. 

Compositions,  143. 

Concrete,  the,  167. 

Consumption,  248. 

Content,  importance  of,  71,  287. 

Context,  meaning  by,  105. 

Contract,  305. 

Copybooks,  117. 

Corporal  punishment,  319. 

Correlation,  88. 

Criterion  of  language,  137. 

Criticisms  in  reading,  51,  54. 

Cube  root,  206. 

Decimal  plan,  the,  172,  192  ;  origin  of, 
196 ;  the  decimal  point,  194. 

Defacements,  273. 

Dewey's,  John  —  School  and  Society, 
282. 

Diacritical  marks,  99. 

Diagraming  sentences,  161-2. 

Dictation,  exercise  in,  146. 

Dictionary  habit,  16. 

Direction,  idea  of,  215. 

Division,  form  of,  180. 

Domestic  science,  295. 

Drawing,  286. 


323 


324 


Index 


Ears  and  eyes,  care  of,  253. 
"Easy"  mind,  an,  4. 
"Elocution,"  the  best,  57. 
Emphasis,  kinds,  86. 
Entertainments,  school,  320. 
Enunciation,  92. 
Environment,  i. 
Ethical  Culture  School,  269. 
"  Events,"  233. 
Exercise,  256. 
Experience,  i. 
Expression,  37,  44. 
Extremes,  11. 

"  Falling  down"  in  reading,  45. 

Figures,  neat,  171. 

First  day,  important,  306. 

Flies,  251. 

Foreigners,    words    diflficult    for,    94; 

reading  difficult  for,  64. 
Form  and  content,  71. 
Formality,  necessary,  39. 
Fractions,  182-3. 
Freedom,  28,  88. 
Fresh  air,  251. 
Friends,  teacher  and  pupil,  12. 

Gallon,  the  origin  of,  201. 

Games,  256. 

Garland's,     Hamlin  —  My    Prairies, 

276. 
Gems,  literary,  275. 
Geography,  209  ff. ;  outline  in,  226, 
George  Junior  RepubUc,  the,  29. 
Germs,  247. 
Globe,  the,  216. 
Grammar,  150;  difficult  to  teach,  164; 

a    part    of     language    work,    157; 

terminology  in,  162 ;   science  or  art, 

160;  why  disliked,  152. 
Greatest  common  divisor,  186. 
Growth,  power  of,  320. 
Grube  method,  166. 
Gymnastics,  257. 

Habits,  mental,  vii,  315. 
Harris,  William  T.,  50. 
Hawthorne's  Great  Stone  Face,  3. 
Health,  4,  241  flf. 
Hearing,  defective,  147,  254. 


History,  228  ff.;   geography   and  his- 
tory, 231 ;   too  philosophical,  233. 
Home  school,  the,  310. 
Hopkins,  Mark,  3. 
Humor,  essential,  6. 
Hygiene,  241  ff. 
Hypnotist,  a  —  the  teacher,  10. 

Ideals,  in  history,  237. 
Ideas,  relation  of,  155,  158. 
Identical  sentences,  156. 
Idols  of  the  market,  15,  loi. 
Imagination,  13  ff . ;  in  arithmetic,  175, 

197;  in  geography,  213. 
Inductive  procedure  in  language,  136. 
Inference,  S3- 
Influence,  2. 
Interest,  39,  302. 
Interference,  too  much,  135. 
Interpreter,  an,  8. 
"  Invert  the  divisor,"  188. 
Isolated  facts,  220. 

Justice,  5. 

Keller,  Helen,  17. 

Kindness,  7. 

Kings,  too  prominent  in  history,  232. 

"  Knocking,"  308. 

Knots,  imtying,  28. 

Knowing  and  doing,  242. 

Language,  130  ff. ;  criterion  of,  137; 
and  the  home,  130;  and  the  school, 
130 ;  no  separate  period  for,  131 ;  oral 
and  written,  132 ;  textbook  in,  149. 

Leader,  a,  7. 

Least  common  multiple,  186. 

Letter-writing,  142. 

Light,  254. 

Liking-point,  the,  39. 

Location,  idea  of,  214. 

Locke,  John,  15. 

Lockjaw,  250. 

Logic  and  grammar,  151. 

"Logy,"  113. 

Lumber  problem,  a,  199. 

Management,  school,  304. 
Manual  training,  298. 


Index 


325 


Map-drawing,  223. 

Marginal  signs,  correction  by,  145. 

Masterfulness,  307. 

Master-key,  a,  44. 

Maxims,  favorite,  278. 

Meaning,  how  learned,  105. 

Mediator,  a,  8. 

Medium,  a,  42. 

Memory,  not  to  be  ignored,  221. 

Mental  arithmetic,  170. 

Methods,  i,  63. 

Metric  system,  the,  202. 

Minneapolis,  221. 

Mirror,  a,  43. 

Misspelled  words,  97-8. 

Montessori,  Madam,  29. 

Morals,  the  teaching  of,  261  ff. ;  in  the 

public  schools,  280. 
Miiller,  Max,  61. 
Multiplication:    table,  174;    form  of, 

179;  sign,  177. 
Music,  271,  283. 

Nagging,  11,  319. 

Narcotics,  258. 

Nature  study,   289;  not  microscopic, 

290. 
Newer  subjects,  the,  282. 
Notation  and  numeration,  172. 
Notebook,  the,  59. 
Note-taking,  127. 

"Of  What?"  190. 
O'ReiUy,  John  Boyle,  7. 
Orthography,  89. 
Outline  in  geography,  226. 

Paragraphing,  144. 

Parsing,  159. 

Passivity,  25. 

Patriotism,  236. 

PersonaUty,  5. 

Phonic  key,  the,  67. 

Physiology,  242. 

Piatt,  John  James,  276. 

Pictures,   49,   270;    interpretation  of, 

\^2. 
Picturing,  clear,  13  ff.,  213. 
Playground,  the,  319. 
Precedence  of  signs,  1 78. 


Predicate,  the,  155. 

Prefixes,  109. 

Problem,  meaning  of,  32. 

Program,  313. 

Promotions,  self  and  parental,  58. 

Pronunciation,  92. 

Proper  names,  meaning  of,  108. 

Proportion,  205. 

Psychology  and  grammar,  151. 

Pvmctuality,  305,  314. 

Punctuation,  82,  137. 

Punishment,  11. 

Pythagorean  theorem,  198. 

Quality,  30. 
Quantity,  30. 
Questioning,  316. 

Rapidity  in  number  work,  173. 

Ratio  and  proportion,  205. 

Reading,  42  ff . ;    a  neglected  art,  44 ; 

beginnings,  61  ff. ;    criticisms,  51-4; 

in  history,  59 ;   silent  and  oral,  44. 
Reason,  in  geography,  221. 
Recessional,  The,  74. 
Recitation,     oral    and    written,     133, 

140;   the  recitation  period,  31  ff. 
Regularity,  314. 
Relative  magnitudes,  219,  225. 
Repeating  answers,  317. 
Repetition,  use  and  abuse,  53. 
Reserve,  the  power  of,  312. 
Revealer,  a,  8. 
Reviews,  34,  318. 
Root  words,  in. 
Rules,  few,  308, 

School  management,  304. 

School  mates,  influence  of,  263. 

Scolding,  II. 

Seating,  proper,  308. 

Selections,  choosing,  57. 

Self-activity,  25. 

Sentence,  the,  —  a  cosmos,  153. 

Sentence-analysis,  157. 

Sex-hygiene,  246. 

Side  excursions,  230. 

Signals,  311. 

Signs,  precedence  of,  178. 

Silent  pupil,  the,  135. 


326 


Index 


Sincerity,  6. 

Slang,  103, 

Slant,  in  writing,  126. 

Slavery  to  a  textbook,  315. 

Spelling,  rules  for,  96. 

Spelling  reform,  100. 

Spirit,  proper,  279,  312. 

Spores,  249. 

Square  Root,  206. 

Squirrel,  the,  —  an  illustration,  28. 

Stand  or  sit?,  317. 

Story,  reproduction  of  a,  141. 

Study,  how  to,  314. 

Subject,  the,  155. 

Suffixes,  no. 

Syllabication,  90-1. 

Synonym,  meaning  thru,  105. 

Synthesis,  216. 

Tabooed  list,  the,  138. 

Talleyrand,  i. 

Teacher,  most  important,  12,  262. 

Teeth,  care  of,  255, 

Telling,  24. 

Terminology,  grammatical,  162. 

Thoroness,  too  much,  83. 

Thought-material,  154. 

Tobacco,  258. 

Tool  stage,  the,  71. 

Translate  —  symbols   into    language, 

170. 
Trichinosis,  250. 


Truth,  the  —  figures  should  tell,  179; 

in  history,  238. 
Truthfulness,  5. 
Twain,  Mark,  23. 
Typewriting,  148. 
Typhoid  fever,  249. 

Understanding,  a  clear,  46. 
Unit  of  the  fraction,  189. 

Vaccination,  259. 
Ventilation,  252. 
Victorian  Jubilee,  76. 
Visit  parents,  310. 
Vocabulary,  72. 

Wake  up  mind,  207,  301, 

Wars,  too  prominent,  232. 

Washington,  a  tribute  to,  85. 

Word,  the,  63. 

Words,   abused,    104;     inwardness  of, 

102 ;     mispronounced,    93 ;     simple, 

compoimd,  etc.,  114;  structure  of,  109. 
Word-work,   89   flf. ;     interesting,   107; 

oral   and   written,    95;     sources   of 

words,  115. 
Workman,  and  his  tool,  3. 
Writing,   116   fif. ;     aims   in,    122;    in 

adolescence,   i::8;     motive  in,   120; 

note-taking    and     haste    in,      127; 

symmetry,    123  ;    systems    of,    125; 

who  can  teach?  128. 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America. 


OUTLINES 


SUGGESTIVE  QUESTIONS   AND   TOPICS 
FOR  TEACHERS'  READING  CIRCLE 


FOREWORD 

1.  The  analogy  of  education  to  the  parts  of  a  build- 
ing—  basement,  one-story,  and  two-story  building. 

2.  How  the  law  of  habit  works  in  the  formation  of 
ruts. 

3.  Is  the  aim  of  the  book  a  study  of  the  details  of 
method  —  a  methodology  —  or  a  discussion  of  method 
in  the  large  —  a  guide  to  true  perspective  ? 

4.  What  is  said  of  the  value  of  reviving  in  ourselves 
old  knowledge  and  motives  ? 

5.  What  is  said  of  definiteness  of  aim  in  teaching? 

6.  What  extremes  are  avoided  ? 


SUGGESTED   QUESTIONS 

CHAPTER  I.— THE  TEACHER  AND  METHODS 

1.  The  value  of  experience  and  the  conditions  detennining  the  value. 

2.  How  may  methods  be  a  good  or  a  bad  master? 

3.  The  influence  of  environment?    The  etymology  of  the  word  influence  ? 

4.  Where  does  the  quotation,  "As  the  twig  is  bent,  the  tree  is  inclined," 
come  from? 

5.  Tell  and  interpret  the  story  of  the  "Great  Stone  Face." 

6.  What  should  be  a  reasonable  equipment  of  a  schoolroom  or  a  school 
plant? 

7.  Contrast  the  equipment  (the  tool)  with  the  teacher  (the  workman). 

8.  Why  should  not  a  deformed  person  teach  ? 

9.  What  is  meant  by  having  an  "easy  mind"  in  a  subject? 

10.  Illustrate  the  expression,  "We  give  only  what  we  have." 

11.  How  extensively  is  the  virtue  oi  justice  neglected? 

12.  In  what  ways  may  a  teacher  be  untruthful? 

13.  What  is  said  of  sincerity  ?  of  humor  ? 

14.  Read  aloud  and  interpret  "What  is  the  Real  Good?" 

15.  Show  how  the  teacher  corresponds  to  the  guide. 

16.  What  is  the  idea  in  revealer  and  inspirer  ? 

17.  How  is  the  teacher  an  interpreter  of  life,  and  a  mediator  ? 

18.  In  what  way  is  a  school  a  mediator? 

19.  What  is  meant  by  the  atmosphere  of  a  school? 

20.  What  is  the  button  illustration  and  that  of  the  chariot  race? 

21.  What  point  is  made  in  regard  to  extremes  in  school  discipline? 

22.  Show  how  it  is  impossible  to  teach  or  learn  where  friendship  does  not 
obtain. 

CHAPTER  II.  —  CLEAR  PICTURING 

1.  What  is  the  great  question  which  the  teacher  should  ask  as  a  test? 

2.  What  is  the  reason  pupils  do  not  get  the  message  of  the  lesson  in  various 
subjects? 

3.  What  percentage  of  the  thought  should  a  pupil  get  from  the  printed 
page?     Could  more  than  100  per  cent  of  the  thought  be  attained? 

4.  What  is  a  replica  ? 

5.  Why  did  Bacon  call  words  "  the  idols  of  the  market''  ?    Why  idols  ?    Why 
of  the  market  ? 

6.  What  was  John  Locke's  contention? 

7.  Why  is  Browning  difficult  to  read? 

8.  What  is  the  "  dictionary  habit "  ? 

329 


330  Suggested  Questions 

Q.   Explain  and  illustrate  pickiring  in  different  sense-fields.    In  which  does 
Helen  Keller  think? 

10.  Give  illustrations  of  your  own  and  your  classes'  failure  to  picture  correctly. 

11.  Show  the  relation  of  definite  picturing  to  writing ;  to  spelling. 

12.  What  is  the  solution  of  the  chimney  problem?  of  the  army  problem? 
(p.  20.) 

13.  Do  you  and  your  pupils  picture  clearly  commercial  subject  matter  in 
Arithmetic? 

14.  What  is  the  situation  and  answer  to  the  question  near  the  top  of  p.  22? 

15.  What  bothered  the  pupils  in  regard  to  the  Nile  River  and  the  Red? 
x6.   Can  you  sketch,  free-hand,  the  situation  of  the  Battle  of  Gettysburg? 

17.  Do  you  carry  out  the  principle  of  c/cor  ^idwrmg  everywhere?     If  not,  the 
few  specific  cases  mentioned  will  do  but  little  good. 

18.  Can  you  illustrate  from  your  own  experience,  as  a  pupil  or  in  your  teach- 
ing, the  lack  of  clear  thinking,  by  actual  examples? 

CHAPTER  III.  — THE  MOST  PREVALENT  MISTAKE 

1.  Distinguish  teaching  from  telling. 

2.  What  point  is  made  under  "Activity  vs.  Passivity"? 

3.  What  is  the  young-bird  illustration? 

4.  Discuss  the  division  of  society  into  leaders  and  leaners. 

5.  Illustrate  the  effect  of  parents'  doing  too  much  for  their  children. 

6.  What  is  the  pet-squirrel  illustration? 

7.  What  is  the  lesson  of  untying  knots? 

8.  Compare  and  illustrate  the  ideal  and  its  realization,  in  the  schoolroom,  of 
quantity  vs.  quality. 

9.  What,  then,  is  the  most  prevalent  error  in  schoolroom  practice? 

10.   Does  this  mean  that  a  teacher  should  never  tell,  explain,  or  give  direct 
instruction? 


CHAPTER  IV.— THE  RECITATION  PERIOD 

1.  What  is  the  etymological  meaning  of  recitation  ? 

2.  What  is  accomplished  in  the  recitation  period,  merely  as  a  meeting  time? 

3.  What  is  the  meaning  of  problem  ? 

4.  What  are  the  steps  in  the  solution  of  any  problem? 

5.  In  what  way  may  the  recitation  be  a  guide  to  the  teacher? 

6.  What  is  meant  by  an  "apperception  mass"? 

7.  What  does  a  review  do? 

8.  Make  clear  the  advantage  of  forecasting  the  problems  of  the  next  lesson. 

9.  Discuss  the  importance  of  expression. 

10.  Should  a  teacher  be  the  chairman  or  the  chief  speaker  during  the  recita- 
tion period? 

11.  What  is  implied  in  the  word  illustrate  ?  in  illuminate  ? 

12.  Show  the  need  ol  formality  in  class  procedure. 

13.  What  is  meant  by  the  liking-point  in  a  subject  of  study? 

14.  What  are  the  conditions  of  keeping  up  to  the  liking-point? 

15.  Can  you  think  of  other  purposes  of  the  recitation  period? 


Suggested  Qitestions  331 

CHAPTER  v.  — READING:    FUNDAMENTAL  PRINCIPLES 

1.  Why  is  reading  the  most  important  of  all  subjects  in  the  elementary 
school  ? 

2.  In  what  way  is  reading  analogous  to  a  medium  in  its  various  conditions 
of  opacity,  translucency,  and  transparency  ? 

3.  What  is  the  w?rror  illustration? 

4.  Explain  the  master-key  illustration. 

5.  Which  of  the  above  is  the  best ?     Can  you  give  another? 

6.  Why  is  reading  an  easy  art? 

7.  Why,  then,  is  it  a  neglected  art? 

8.  Distinguish  oral  from  silent  reading. 

9.  Apply  the  analogy  of  "falling  down"  to  much  of  the  reading  done  in 
schools. 

10.  Explain  the  understanding,  the  liking,  and  the  expressing  of  a  selection, 
as  the  psychological  foundations  of  the  art  of  reading  well. 

11.  What  is  the  actual,  specific  manner  of  securing  each  of  the  three  factors? 

12.  What  is  a  good  way  to  choose  selections  for  reading? 

13.  Explain  the  illustration  of  "Pictures  on  Memory's  Wall." 


CHAPTER  VI.  — READING:    A   CRITICISM   OF   METHODS 

1.  As  a  matter  of  technique  what  should  be  the  situation  when  a  pupil 
reads  before  his  class? 

2.  Why  not  one  paragraph  each? 

3.  What  is  the  illustration  of  Edwin  Booth? 

4.  When  is  repetition  good  and  when  bad? 

5.  What  is  included  in  enriching  a  reading  lesson? 

6.  Give  the  fruitless  criticisms  mentioned,  and  why  fruitless? 

7.  Can  you  give  others? 

8.  What  is  the  best  kind  of  elocution  ? 

9.  Should  variations  in  expression  be  encouraged  or  discouraged? 

10.  What  is  said  of  giving  pupils  the  idea  that  a  selection  is  finished  7 

11.  What  abuse  is  often  noticed  in  regard  to  promotions  on  the  basis  of  a 
reader  of  a  higher  name?  How  can  this  desire  to  read  in  a  higher  book  be  dis- 
sipated ? 

12.  What  is  said  of  the  practice  of  making  a  history  a  reading  book? 

13.  How  have  you  solved  the  problem  of  reading?  Do  your  pupils  read 
understandingly  and  with  good  expression? 


CHAPTER  VII.  —  READING :    THE   BEGINNINGS 

1.  About  how  many  words  does  a  child  of  six  know? 

2.  How  does  he  know  them  and  how  has  he  learned  them? 

3.  What  transfer  is  to  be  effected  in  school  the  first  year  and  how  is  it  done? 

4.  If  the  child  does  not  know  the  English  language,  what  is  the  teacher's 
problem  and  her  method? 

5.  What  was  the  basis  of  language  in  learning  to  talk?     Would  this,  then, 
be  the  proper  basis,  psychologically,  in  learning  to  read  ? 


332  Suggested  QtiesHons 

6.  What  is  the  defect  of  the  alphabet  method? 

7.  Has  it  any  good  points? 

8.  What  is  meant  by  the  "phonic  key"?    Whys,  key? 

Q.  How  many  first  readers  can  a  class  of  children  read  to  advantage  the 
first  year? 

10.  Is  it  best  to  begin  with  script  or  with  print ?     Why? 

11.  The  sample  instanced  on  p.  68. 

12.  To  what  extent  should  written  expression  accompany  the  first  year's 
reading  lessons? 

13.  Why  should  a  child  be  thankful  to  his  teacher  for  his  first  year  of  reading, 
but  not  for  his  number  work  of  the  first  grade? 

14.  What  point  is  made  in  the  discussion  of  "form  and  content"  in  the  early 
stages  of  learning? 

15.  Can  you  test  yourself  and  your  pupils  in  regard  to  the  nimiber  of  words 
you  and  they  know  ? 

16.  What  is  one's  vocabulary  ? 


CHAPTER  Vm.  — READING:    SAMPLE  LESSONS 

1.  What  difference  in  aims  and  in  methods  of  teaching  reading  in  the  second 
grade  and  in  the  eighth  grade? 

2.  What  preparation  is  made  for  the  study  and  reading  of  the  "Reces- 
sional "  ? 

3.  If  much  is  done  by  the  teacher  what  will  be  left  for  the  pupils  to  do  alone? 

4.  Do  you  understand  the  "  Recessional  "  in  its  detailed  allusions? 

5.  What  is  the  old  way  and  the  poor  way? 

6.  Distinguish  between  proximate  and  ultimate  analysis. 

7.  What  is  meant  by  the  "return  wave"  and  when  does  a  pupil  get  it? 

8.  What  details  are  mentioned  and  what  additional  ones  would  you  suggest  ? 

9.  What  freedom  would  you  allow  or  encourage  in  different  versions,  or 
readings? 

10.  What  relation  is  there  between  punctuation  points  and  pauses? 

11.  To  what  extent  would  you  go  into  the  biography  of  an  author? 

12.  Cditith-trth^  too  voMch.  thoroughness?    Explain. 

13.  What  is  said  of  literary  gems  in  brief? 

14.  What  is  the  emphasis  of  time  ? 

15.  What  is  meant  by  saying  that  the  reading  period  should  be  a  "holy  time"  ? 

16.  Give  other  instances  of  how  one  selection  may  suggest  another.     Make 
a  series  appropriate  to  your  own  state. 

17.  Should  the  selections  in  a  reading  book  be  required,  or  merely  offer  a 
supply  to  be  used  at  the  discretion  of  the  teacher  and  class? 


CHAPTER  IX.  — WORD   WORK:    THE   FORM 

1.  What  is  the  etymological  meaning  of  orthography? 

2.  What  work  should  be  done  on  words  in  addition  to  mere  spelling? 

3.  Why  is  syllabication  important?     How  should  it  be  taught,  both  in  oral 
and  in  written  spelling? 

4.  What  is  the  distinction  between  pronunciation  and  enimciation  ? 


Suggested  Questions  333 


5.  Can  you  make  a  list  of  words  often  mispronounced,  similar  to  that  on 
P-  93? 

6.  Can  you  make  a  list  similar  to  that  on  p,  94,  difficult  for  children  whose 
vernacular  is  not  the  English? 

7.  What  determines  whether  spelling  should  be  oral  or  written? 

8.  What  is  the  value,  if  any,  of  an  old-fashioned  spelling-school? 

9.  What  rules  for  spelling  have  you  found  of  most  service  ? 

10.  What  can  be  said  for  and  against  the  practice  of  keeping  a  pupil  in,  after 
school,  to  write  a  misspelled  word  over  and  over  again? 

11.  Can  you  make  a  list  of  words  often  misspelled,  similar  to  that  on  p.  98? 

12.  What  is  said  of  the  use  and  the  abuse  of  diacritical  marks? 

13.  What  words,  if  any,  do  you  write  according  to  the  authorized  revised 
spellings  ? 

14.  It  is  said  that  experimental  tests  prove  that  pupils  who  do  not  have  sepa- 
rate spelUng  periods  make  as  good  showing  in  orthography  as  those  who  do. 
Would  this  indicate  that  there  should  be  no  separate  period  for  words  as  words  ? 

CHAPTER   X.  — WORD    WORK:     THE    INWARDNESS    OF    WORDS 

1.  What  is  the  most  important  thing  in  word  work? 

2.  What  is  slang?    Where  do  you  draw  the  line  in  its  use  or  allowance? 

3.  Whatismeant  by  a6M5e<i  words?  Can  you  give  other  samples  than  those 
on  p.  104? 

4.  How  are  the  meanings  of  words  learned? 

5.  Show  how  one  may  know  the  dictionary  meaning  and  yet  not  be  able  to 
use  the  word  correctly. 

6.  Can  you  give  instances  of  word  revelations  in  your  experience? 

7.  Show  that  some  words  are  more  interesting  as  words  than  others. 

8.  Can  you  add  a  few  words  to  the  list  on  p.  108? 

9.  Can  you  get  the  meaning  of  the  names  in  your  school? 

10.  Explain  the  structure  of  words  by  compounding  and  by  adding  prefix 
or  suffix  or  both  to  a  root,  or  stem. 

11.  Can  you  give  other  prefixes  and  suffixes  of  value  in  addition  to  those  on 
p.  no  to  113? 

12.  How  many  words  do  you  assign  for  a  lesson? 

13.  What  is  the  source  of  your  word  lessons? 


CHAPTER  XI. —  WRITING 

1.  Are  you  having  genuine  success  in  teaching  writing?    If  not,  what  is  the 
problem? 

2.  Do  you  like  to  teach  writing?     If  not,  what  should  you  do? 

3.  Where  does  the  teaching  of  writing  begin? 

4.  What  is  the  present  status  —  is  progress  evident  or  not? 

5.  What  does  a  copy-book  do  ?     Balance  up  its  good  and  bad  tendencies  and 
results. 

6.  Is  the  charge  that  copy-books  are  made  to  see  too  strong? 

7.  Show  that  writing  is  a  habit  and  follows  the  laws  of  habit. 

8.  What  is  said  of  a  lack  of  a  motive? 


334  Suggested  Questions 

g.  What  are  the  motives  at  work  when  one  is  progressing  in  writing? 

10.  What  is  the  teacher's  part? 

1 1 .  What  are  the  aims  in  teaching  writing  ? 

12,  What  makes  some  writing  look  good  and  other  writing  look  bad? 

13,  What  point  is  brought  out  in  "writing  a  means,  not  an  end"? 

14,  What  is  said  of  specific  systems  of  writing? 

15.  Of  what  use,  if  any,  is  the  analysis  of  letters? 
i6.  What  is  said  of  slants  in  writing? 

17.  Can  a  poor  writer  teach  writing  successfully? 

18.  What  is  the  effect,  on  writing,  of  the  adolescent  revolution? 


CHAPTER  XII.  —  LANGUAGE  WORK:  ELEMENTARY 

1.  What  is  said  of  the  home  as  a  teacher  of  language? 

2.  What  part  of  the  responsibility  for  good  language  devolves  upon  the 
school? 

3.  Show  how  language- work  is  involved  in  all  subjects. 

4.  Since  this  is  so,  why  is  there  need  of  a  separate  period  in  language? 

5.  Does  ability  in  written  speech  always  accompany  ability  in  oral  speech 
and  vice  versa  ? 

6.  What  proportion  of  your  school  recitations  is  written  work  and  in  what 
subjects? 

7.  Show  how  compositional  power  grows. 

8.  How  should  the  problem  of  the  silent  or  bashful  pupil  be  met   and 
solved? 

9.  Should  there  be  interruptions,  and  if  so  when,  for  language  purposes  dur- 
ing recitation  by  a  pupil? 

10.  What  should  be  accepted  from  a  pupil  in  the  way  of  a  written  product? 

11.  What  is  the  standard  of  good  language? 

12.  Would  you  add  to  the  list  of  backbone  words  on  p.  138? 

13.  Have  you  a  list  of  tabooed  expressions  for  your  school? 

14.  What  is  said  of  the  recitation  as  an  opportunity  for  both  oral  and  written 
language? 

15.  What  precaution  should  be  taken  in  order  not  to  spoil  the  reproduction  of 
a  story  as  a  language  exercise? 

16.  Do  you  have  your  pupils  write  their  interpretation  of  pictures? 

17.  What  do  you  do  in  the  teaching  of  simple  letter-writing? 

18.  What  does  the  writing  of  some  work  for  the  teacher  do  for  a  pupil? 

19.  What  should  be  observed  and  avoided  in  composition  work  to  keep  it 
from  being  unpleasant,  and  mere  drudgery? 

20.  How  could  you  impress  upon  pupils  the  idea  and  the  reasonableness  of 
paragraphing  ? 

21.  Have  you  experimented  with  the  plan  of  correcting  by  marginal  signs 
after  the  manner  of  the  proof  reader? 

22.  How  may  dictation  lend  itself  to  language  work? 

23.  What  help  would  a  typewriter  be  in  language  work? 

24.  What  is  said  of  quantity  rather  than  quality  ? 

25.  Do  you  rely  on  a  textbook  in  language  entirely,  or  do  you  teach  language 
without  a  text? 


Suggested  Questions  335 

CHAPTER  XIII.  —  LANGUAGE-WORK :    ADVANCED 

1.  What  is  the  distinction,  all  along  the  hne,  between  language-work  and 
grammar? 

2.  What  is  meant  by  saying  grammar  is  abstract  ? 

3.  Show  how  the  different  kinds  of  sentences,  according  to  grammar,  are 
related  to  psychology. 

4.  Should  grammar  begin  with  the  facts,  or  subject   matter,  or  with  the 
finished  product,  the  rules  ? 

5.  Why  is  grammar  so  frequently  disliked? 

6.  Explain  why  the  sentence  is  a  cosmos  ? 

7.  What  is  thought-material?     Its  kinds? 

8.  Show  that  it  is  ideas,  not  words,  that  are  related, 
g.   Make  plain  the  conception  of  subject  and  predicate. 

10.  Illustrate  subject  and  predicate  in  what  is  called  the  identical  sentence. 

11.  Show  that  grammar  is  only  a  part  of  language- work. 

12.  What  is  meant  by  analyzing  a  sentence  ? 

13.  Show  how  ideas  work  on  other  ideas. 

14.  What  is  the  nature  of  parsing? 

15.  Show  that  the  imposition  of  Latin  syntax  upon  the  English  language   is 
unnecessary  and  often  ludicrous. 

16.  Is  grammar  a  science  or  an  art ?     Why? 

17.  To  what  extent  does  grammar  aid  the  art  of  expression ? 

18.  What  is  meant  by  diagraming  ? 

19.  What  conclusion  have  you  come  to  in  regard  to  the  various  technical 
terms  in  grammar? 

20.  Why  is  grammar  difficult  to  teach  ? 

CHAPTER  XIV.  —  ARITHMETIC :    ELEMENTARY 

1.  What  position  is  taken  in  regard  to  number- work  in  the  primary  grades? 
Why? 

2.  Show  how  abstract  number  concepts  come  from  concrete  experiences. 

3.  Could  pupils  be  kept  too  long  on  the  concrete?     How? 

%  4.   What  is  the  incident  found  in  the  "  Evolution  of  Dodd  "  ?     Have  you 
read  that  book  ? 

5.  How  could  the  time  spent  on  arithmetic  be  reduced,  to  advantage? 

6.  What  position  is  taken  in  regard  to  what  is  known  as  mental  arithmetic? 

7.  Show  how  mathematical  concepts  are  tools  for  fighting  our  environment. 

8.  What  is  said  —  and  for  what  purpose  —  in  regard  to  translating  numbers 
into  language  ? 

9.  What  precaution  is  urged  in  regard  to  neat  figures? 

10.  How  is  the  plan  for  teaching  decimal  numbers  put  forward  ? 

11.  How  much  should  be  made  of  rapidity  in  the  fundamental  operations? 

12.  What  injunctions  are  given  in  regard  to  matter,  manner,  and  form  in 
addition  and  multiplication? 

13.  How  large  a  place  does  imagination  hold  in  arithmetic?     Illustrate. 

14.  Can  8  ft.  be  multipUed  by  8  ft.  ? 

15.  What  are  the  different  names  for  the  sign  of  multiplication? 

16.  Is  the  precedence  of  signs  necessary  or  conventional  ? 


33^  Suggested  Questions 

17.  What  is  the  necessary  condition  of  cancelation? 

18.  What  is  meant  by  saying  that  figures  should  tell  the  truth? 

19.  What  are  the  best  forms  for  multipUcation  and  division? 

CHAPTER  XV.  —  ARITHMETIC :   ADVANCED 

1.  How  is  much  arithmetic  acquired  incidentally? 

2.  Show  that  a  clear  conception  oijr actions  is  essential. 

3.  Why  can  only  fractions  of  the  same  denominator  be  added? 

4.  Where  is  the  "greatest  common  divisor"  and  "least  common  multiple" 
most  needed  and  used  ? 

5.  Show  that  it  is  necessary  to  explain  all  terms  used. 

6.  Have  you  ever  found  pupils  really  to  understand  why  the  divisor  is  in- 
verted in  the  division  of  fractions?     Can  you  make  it  clear? 

7.  What  are  the  "unit  of  the  fraction"  and  the  "fractional  unit"? 

8.  What  point  is  made  in  the  "of  what" ? 

9.  How  might  some  "general  arithmetic"  (algebra)  be  introduced  in  the 
grades? 

10.  What  are  the  "old  friends"  in  "new  masks"? 

1 1 .  Explain  the  decimal  plan. 

12.  What  is  the  office  or  function  of  the  decimal  point? 

13.  There  is  an  erroneous  decimal  point  on  p.  195  of  the  edition  of  1915. 
Can  you  find  it? 

14.  What  is  the  origin  of  the  decimal  system  ? 

15.  What  mischief  may  the  a»(/ do  in  mixed  decimals?     Show  it. 

16.  Explain  the  importance  of  imagination  in  the  problems  on  p.  197-202. 

17.  How  much  time  and  attention  should  be  given  to  the  metric  system  in 
the  grades? 

18.  What  is  the  criticism,  on  the  teaching  of  the  whole  phase  of  commercial 
arithmetic? 

19.  What  is  recommended  in  regard  to  proportion  and  the  roots?  Do  you 
like  to  teach  these?  Do  children  take  to  these  operations?  Would  it  be  well  to 
give  children  an  insight  into  the  elements  of  these  fields? 

20.  What  is  said  about  "Waking  up  mind"?  How  do  you  work  the  milk 
problem  given? 

CHAPTER  XVI.  —  GEOGRAPHY 

1 .  What  is  the  purpose  of  the  study  of  geography  ? 

2.  How  is  our  first  knowledge  of  geography  gotten? 

3.  About  what  year,  or  grade,  is  the  systematic  study  of  geography  begun? 

4.  To  what  extent  should  the  study  of   geography  begin,  like  charity,  at 
home  and  proceed  outward? 

5.  Are  nearness  in  space  and  nearness  in  mind  correlative  or  proportionate? 
Show. 

6.  Illustrate  clear  picturing  in  geography. 

7.  How  is  location  determined  in  a  room?    in  the    land    survey?    on   the 
gbbe? 

8.  What  is  meant  by  a  good  sense  of  direction? 

9.  When  and  how  should  a  pupil  get  a  clear  idea  of  the  world  as  a  whole  ? 


Suggested  Questions  337 


10.  Explain  analysis  and  synthesis  as  applied  to  geography  study. 

11.  Can  you  clearly  picture  and  answer  all  the  questions  on  p.  217-19? 

12.  What  is  meant  by  facts  of  different  magnitudes? 

13.  What  is  the  so-called  "sailor  geography"? 

14.  Discuss  the  parts  which  memory  and  reason  play  in  geography. 

15.  What  is  the  true  theory  of  map-drawing?     Its  purpose? 

16.  Discuss  the  importance  of  relative  sizes  and  distances. 

17.  What  aids  should  a  teacher  of  geography  avail  himself  of? 

1 8.  Can  you  improve  on  the  outline  given  ?     How  ? 

19.  Can  you  give  the  information  under  "  Practical    Application,"   on 


227? 


CHAPTER  XVn.  — HISTORY 


1.  Show  how  beginnings  of  historical  knowledge  are  wrapped  up  with  other 
subjects. 

2.  Why  does  the  study  of  history  begin  at  home  and  not  follow  the  chrono- 
logical order  ? 

3.  What  are  the  advantages  to  both  teacher  and  pupil  of  a  good  text  ? 

4.  What  is  meant  by  "correlations  by  side  excursions"? 

5.  Show  the  vital  and  constant  relation  of  geography  and  history. 

6.  What  was  the  great  defect  of  the  older  texts  in  history  ? 

7.  What  is  the  defect,  in  the  other  extreme,  of  some  of  the  newer  texts? 

8.  What  is  wrong  with  the  conception  of  history  as  a  "narrative  of  events" ? 

9.  What  is  the  etymological  meaning  of  event  ? 

10.  Show  that  there  are  both  facts  and  principles  of  varying  magnitudes, 
and  that  pupils  should  be  cognizant  of  the  difference. 

11.  To  what  extent,  if  at  all,  should  a  history  lesson  be  memorized  ? 

12.  Show  how  true  patriotism  may  be  effectively  taught  in  history. 

13.  Show  how  high  ideals  and  broad-mindedness  may  be  instilled  in  the  teach- 
ing of  history. 

14.  How  may  history  be  made  the  means  of  teaching  toleration  ? 

15.  Have  you  come  to  a  conclusion  as  to  whether  it  is  better  to  trace  a  move- 
ment from  beginning  to  end  before  taking  up  another,  or  to  carry  on  pari  passu 
the  study  of  several  movements  which  were  taking  place  at  the  same  time  ? 

16.  How  do  you  measure  yourself  by  the  standard  outlined  on  p.  239-40? 

CHAPTER  XVIII.  —  HYGIENE 

1.  Why  is  the  study  of  hygiene  of  vital  importance ? 

2.  Can  you  present  hygiene  to  your  school  in  topics  without  regular  lessons 
in  a  text? 

3.  Why  does  not  the  knowledge  of  anatomy  help  children? 

4.  To  what  extent,  if  at  all,  does  even  physiology  function  in  life  ? 

5.  Show  the  contrast  that  frequently  manifests  itself  between  knowing  and 
doing. 

6.  How  does  hygiene  differ  from  anatomy  and  physiology  ? 

7.  What  is  said  about  the  necessity  of  clear  presentation  ? 

8.  What  does  your  particular  situation  require  in   regard  to  bathing  as  a 
subject  for  a  lesson,  or  perhaps  several? 


338  Suggested  Questions 


g.  What  is  your  experience  or  observation  in  regard  to  the  teaching  of  sex- 
hygiene  in  the  grades?  What  circumstances  would  determine  in  different 
cases? 

10.  Do  children  actually  realize  the  danger  of  germs  ? 

11.  To  what  extent  can  teachers  fight  the  white  plague  and    other   germ 
diseases  by  vivid,  concrete  lessons  in  hygiene? 

12.  What  is  lockjaw?     What  time  could  well  be  spent  on  the  subject  in 
reading  accounts  of  it  from  texts,  encyclopedias,  etc.  ? 

13.  Woud  it  be  well  to  put  the  children  on  the  hunt  for  facts  and  illustrations 
in  regard  to  trichinosis  ? 

14.  Can  you  secure  a  lantern-sUde  exhibition  of  the  fly  in  all  his  filthy  habits? 

15.  How  many  lessons  or  short  periods  could  well  be  devoted  to  the  fly 
nuisance  ? 

16.  Would  not  the  whole  subject  oi  fresh  air  be  a  fruitful  one  for  a  number  of 
lessons  and  illustrations? 

17.  Do  you  really  see  to  it  that  your  pupils  have  fresh  air?     What  are  you 
doing  about  it? 

1 8.  Can  you  test  the  eyes  and  ears  of  children  ?     How  ? 

19.  Are  you  in  sufficiently  close  touch  with  your  pupils  to  find  out  from  them 
the  condition  of  their  teeth?     Are  they  suggestible  enough  to  act  accordingly? 

20.  Have  you  ever  shown  your  pupils  just  how  yoti  take  care  of  your  teeth? 

21.  What  is  the  danger  in  too  much  moralizing  or  preaching  in  regard   to 
hygienic  subjects? 


CHAPTER  XIX.  — THE  TEACHING  OF  MORALS 

1.  What  is  meant  by  indirect  teaching? 

2.  What  is  said  of  the  moralizing  power  of  the  teacher? 

3.  How  do  schoolmates  woro/ize  or  Jeworafee  a  pupil? 

4.  Show  how  habits  of  doing  one's  school  work  moralize. 

5.  How  does  arithmetic,  well  taught,  moralize? 

6.  What  does  geography  do  for  one,  morally  ? 

7.  What  is  the  moral  tendency  and  effect  of  science  work? 

8.  Show  what  history  may  do  when  rightly  taught. 

9.  Show  the  moral  effects  of  reading  and  literature  when  well  taught. 

10.  If  pupils  love  their  teacher  and  their  subjects,  what  effect  has  this  on  their 
capacity  to  be  moralized? 

11.  What  is  said  of  ethicizing  the  various  subject  matters  of  the  curriculum? 
What  does  this  mean? 

12.  Can  you  give  an  illustration  of  the  effect  of  good  pictures? 

13.  How  may  music  be  utilized  in  the  interests  of  morality?   . 

14.  How  does  school  organization  form  the  morals  of  children? 

15.  Do  you  scrupulously  watch  for  and  remove  all  defacements  of  walls? 

16.  What  use  can  be  made  of  the  story  in  forming  the  moral  character  of 
children? 

17.  What  literary  gems  are  you  and  your  pupils  making  your  own?    What 
beautiful  pictures  are  you  hanging  on  Memory's  wall? 

18.  Extend  the  list  of  favorite  maxims,  but  be  careful  to  choose  only  the  really 
good. 


Suggested  Questions  339 

19.  What  efifect  have  short  biographies  of  great  and  good  people  upon  the 
minds  of  children? 

20.  What  is  the  "school  spirit,"  and  what  does  it  do? 

21.  Explain  the  taking  upon  one's  self  of  law.    What  does  it  signify? 


CHAPTER  XX.  — THE  SPECIAL  SUBJECTS 

Is  the  school  a  sample  of  real  Life? 
What  is  meant  by  the  newer  subjects  ? 

1.  Music 

1.  Why  is  or  is  not  music  as  educative  as  other  subjects? 

2.  What  does  it  do  for  government  and  discipline  in  a  school? 

3.  What  is  meant  by  a  subject  being  merely  formal  ? 

4.  What  is  there  in  the  idea  that  music  is  more  appropriate  for  girls  than 
for  boys? 

5.  Is  music  given  creJj/ on  a  par  with  other  subjects?    Why  not? 

6.  Should  children,  while  learning  to  sing  by  note,  learn  and  sing  other  songs 
by  rote? 

7.  What  should  be  avoided  ? 

8.  What  should  be  emphasized? 

9.  What  is  the  aim  of  music? 

II.  Drawing  and  Art 

1.  What  is /orwo/ww  in  drawing?     What  is  meant  by  content? 

2.  What  is  the  fltw  of  drawing? 

3.  What  is  said  of  the  equipment  and  the  care  of  materials? 

4.  Indicate  the  range,  or  scope  of  the  work. 

5.  Do  you  feel  that  you  are  succeeding  in  this  field,  or  does  it  drag?    Can 
you  solve  this  problem  for  yourself  ? 

III.  Nature  Study 

1.  What  is  the  importance  of  nature  study? 

2.  What  is  said  in  regard  to  microscopic  work? 

3.  What  is  the  aim  of  nature  study? 

4.  What  is  meant  by  first-hand  knowledge? 

5.  Name  some  specific  fields  for  nature  study. 

6.  In  how  many  of  these  fields  have  you  developed  an  interest? 

IV.  Agriculture 

1 .  What  has  awakened  an  interest  in  agriculture  in  the  last  decade  ? 

2.  Why  is  there  a  dearth  of  teachers  of  agriculture? 

3.  What  is  the  effect  of  poor  teaching  on  pupils  and  subject  matter? 

4.  What  should  be  avoided  in  rural  teaching? 

5.  What  are  the  needs  of  the  rural  school  ?     Enumerate  and  discuss. 


340  Suggested  Questions 

6.  Name  specific  topics  of  interest  in  the  teaching  of  agriculture. 

7.  What  is  said  of  farmstead  conveniences? 

V.  Home  Economics 

1 .  What  is  the  value  of  this  subject  ? 

2.  What  are  the  aims  of  its  study  and  teaching? 

3.  Specify  the  things  that  can  be  done  in  home  economics  in  the  elementary 
school. 

4.  What  is  said  of  the  cost  of  a  modest  equipment? 

5.  Report  what  you  have  accomplished  in  your  school  in  this  field. 

VI.  Manual  Training 

1.  Discuss  the  value  of  expression  in  education. 

2.  What  is  said  of  the  scope  of  work  that  is  feasible? 

3.  What  room  and  equipment  are  needed  for  a  modest  attempt  to  do  some- 
thing worth  while? 

4.  What  have  you  done  in  your  school  that  can  be  properly  termed  manual 
art? 

VII.  Wake  Up  Mind 

1 .  What  is  meant  by  a  period  whose  aim  is  to  wake  up  mind  ? 

2.  Can  you  answer  all  the  questions  asked  on  p.  301-2  ? 

3.  Can  you  add  others  that  would  be  stimulating? 

4.  What  is  meant  by  a  contagious  interest  ? 

5.  What  are  the  aims  and  effects  of  an  interesting  and  unsolved  problem 
thrown  out  to  a  school? 


CHAPTER  XXI.  — SCHOOL  MANAGEMENT 

1.  What  is  said  about  a  letter  of  application? 

2.  What  is  said  in  regard  to  the  making  and  the  keeping  of  a  contract? 

3.  What  of  the  importance  of  never  being  late? 

4.  What  is  discussed  under  the  heading,  "  Get  into  the  Game  "  ? 

5.  What  is  the  unusual  importance  of  the  first  day  ? 

6.  What  traits  come  under  masterfulness  ? 

7.  What  use  may  be  made  of  proper  seating? 

8.  What  is  said  of  boasting  and  knocking  ? 

9.  What  is  the  rule  in  regard  to  rules  ? 

10.  What  is  the  "  test  case  "  ? 

1 1 .  What  is  the  purpose  and  effect  of  visiting  homes  ? 

12.  What  is  the  position  taken  in  regard  to  teaching  the  home  school  ? 

13.  What  do  you  do  in  regard  to  signals  in  school  management? 

14.  What  is  meant  by  "keeping  the  machinery  in  the  background "  ? 

15.  What  is  meant  by  the  proper  attitude  and  spirit  in  a  schoolroom  ? 

16.  What  is  said  of  a  clock  and  program? 

17.  What  should  be  done  in  regard  to  teaching  children  how  to  study?      How 
do  yo«  study? 


Suggested  Questions  341 


18.  What  are  mental  habits?    Illustrate. 

19.  What  is  meant  by  being  a  slave  to  a  book  or  a  course  of  study  ? 

20.  What  could  be  done  and  not  done  in  questioning  ? 

2 1 .  What  is  the  abuse  called  "repeating  answers " ? 

22.  What  is  said  in  regard  to  sitting  or  standing  when  reciting? 

23.  What  is  said  of  reviews? 

24.  What  is  meant  by  "  caUing  back  instruction  "  ? 

25.  What  is  nagging?  its  efifects? 

26.  What  is  the  position  taken  in  regard  to  supervising  the  playground? 

27.  Discuss  the  importance  of  cleanliness. 

28.  What  is  said  of  school  entertainments  and  their  efifects  ? 

29.  Show  how  growth  is  essential  to  a  Uve  teacher. 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 

AN  INITIAL  PINE  OF  25  CENTS 

WILL  BE  ASSESSED   FOR   FAILURE  TO   RETURN 
THIS   BOOK   ON   THE   DATE  DUE.    THE   PENALTY 
WILL  INCREASE  TO  SO  CENTS  ON  THE  FOURTH 
DAY    AND    TO    $1.00    ON     THE    SEVENTH     DAY 
OVERDUE. 

^MOVi          1        ^^-■' 

LD  21-100m-7,'39(4028) 

YB  0456C 


